Trump said in a social media post that the EU “is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal,” though he did not flesh out his objections in the post.

Asked by reporters on Friday about the increase in import taxes as he departed the White House for Florida, Trump said the EU was not “as usual” adhering to last year’s trade framework, without detailing the source of the tension. He added that he believed the shift to higher tariffs “forces them to move their factory production much faster” to the U.S.

Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to the trade deal last July. It set a tariff ceiling of 15% on most goods, though the Supreme Court this year ruled against the legal authority that Trump had used to charge that tax. This left Trump looking for substitute authorities, and his administration has imposed a 10% tax while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.

The tariffs hit at a moment when the Iran war has crushed the world economy with expectations of slower growth and higher inflation, as oil and natural gas prices have risen due to the effective closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz after strikes by the U.S. and Israel began at the end of February.

At the same time, Trump faces political pressure in the U.S. going into November’s midterm elections because of rising levels of inflation. Trump, a Republican, returned to the White House last year on the explicit promise that he could quickly tame prices that jumped in the aftermath of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, but higher energy costs pushed annual inflation in March to 3.3%, which was higher than what he had inherited.

Just 30% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to the latest poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs.

Both the U.S. and the EU had previously confirmed their commitment to preserving the trade framework, known as the Turnberry Agreement, which was named after Trump’s golf course in Scotland.

The status of the 2025 deal was first cast into doubt after the Supreme Court this year ruled that the president lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency and charge tariffs on goods from the members of the EU and other states. The alternative tariffs being explored by the Trump administration could ultimately put the agreement with the EU in risk of violation, though European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič told reporters last week that the relationship with the U.S. had become more positive over the past year.

The EU had said it expected the bilateral deal would save European automakers about 500 million to 600 million euros ($585 million to $700 million) a month.

The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.

“A deal is a deal,” the European Commission said in February after the Supreme Court ruling. “As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honor its commitments set out in the Joint Statement — just as the EU stands by its commitments. EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed.”

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Governor Gavin Newsom touted new data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis showing California’s growth.

The data shows California’s gross domestic product (GDP) hit $4.10 trillion (£3.08 trillion) in 2024, surpassing Japan, which was marked at $4.01 trillion. The state now only trails Germany, China and the US as a whole.

“California isn’t just keeping pace with the world – we’re setting the pace,” Newsom said.

The new figures come as Newsom has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s tariffs and voiced concern about the future of the state’s economy.

California has the largest share of manufacturing and agricultural production in the US. It is also home to leading technological innovation, the centre of the world’s entertainment industry and the country’s two largest seaports.

Newsom, a prominent Democrat and possible presidential candidate in 2028, filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s authority to impose the levies, which have caused disruption to global markets and trade.

Trump has enacted 10% levies on almost all countries importing to the US, after announcing a 90-day pause on higher tariffs.

Another 25% tariff was imposed on Mexico and Canada. The levies on China, however, have led to an all-out trade war with the world’s second largest economy.

Trump imposed import taxes of up to 145% on Chinese goods coming into the US and China hit back with a 125% tax on American products.

His administration said last week that when the new tariffs were added on to existing ones, the levies on some Chinese goods could reach 245%.

Newsom noted his worries about the future of the state’s economy.

“While we celebrate this success, we recognise that our progress is threatened by the reckless tariff policies of the current federal administration,” he said. “California’s economy powers the nation, and it must be protected.”

Trump has argued his trade war is only levelling the playing field after years of the US being taken advantage of.

The tariffs are an effort to encourage factories and jobs to return to the US. It is one major pillar of his economic agenda, as is a cut in interest rates, aimed at reducing the cost of borrowing for Americans.

The new data shows California’s GDP behind the US at $29.18 trillion, China at $18.74 trillion and Germany at $4.65 trillion. It also shows California was the fastest growing among those countries.

Japan’s economy is under pressure because of its decreasing and ageing population, which means its workforce is shrinking and social care costs are ballooning.

This week, the IMF cut its economic growth forecast for Japan and projected that the central bank would raise interest rates more slowly than previously expected because of the impact of higher tariffs.

“The effect of tariffs announced on April 2 and associated uncertainty offset the expected strengthening of private consumption with above-inflation wage growth boosting household disposable income,” its World Economic Outlook report said.

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In a post Sunday night on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he has authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.”

“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” he wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”

The White House said Monday that it was figuring out how to comply with the president’s wishes.

“Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,” said spokesperson Kush Desai.

It’s common for both large and small films to include production in the U.S. and in other countries. Big-budget movies like the upcoming “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” for instance, are shot around the world.

Incentive programs for years have influenced where movies are shot, increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries with favorable tax incentives, like Canada and the United Kingdom.

Yet Trump’s tariffs are designed to lead consumers toward American products. And in movie theaters, American-produced movies overwhelmingly dominate the domestic marketplace.

China has ramped up its domestic movie production, culminating in the animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” grossing more than $2 billion this year. But even then, its sales came almost entirely from mainland China. In North America, it earned just $20.9 million.

In New Zealand, where successive governments have offered rebates and incentives in recent years to draw Hollywood films to the country, the film industry has generated billions of dollars in tourism revenue driven by the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, which featured the country’s pristine and scenic vistas. More recently, the blockbuster “Minecraft” movie was filmed entirely in New Zealand, and U.S. productions in 2023 delivered $1.3 billion New Zealand dollars ($777 million) to the country in return for NZ$200 million in subsidies, according to government figures.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was awaiting more details of Trump’s measures before commenting on them but would continue to pitch to filmmakers abroad, including in India’s Bollywood. “We’ve got an absolutely world class industry,” he said. “This is the best place to make movies, period, in the world.”

The Motion Picture Association, which represents major U.S. film studios and streaming services, didn’t immediately respond to messages Sunday evening.

The MPA’s data shows how much Hollywood exports have dominated cinemas. According to the MPA, the American movies produced $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023.

Trump, a Republican, has made good on the “tariff man” label he gave himself years ago, slapping new taxes on goods made in countries around the globe. That includes a 145% tariff on Chinese goods and a 10% baseline tariff on goods from other countries, with even higher levies threatened.

By unilaterally imposing tariffs, Trump has exerted extraordinary influence over the flow of commerce, creating political risks and pulling the market in different directions. There are tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, with more imports, including pharmaceutical drugs, set to be subject to new tariffs in the weeks ahead.

Trump has long voiced concern about movie production moving overseas.

Shortly before he took office, he announced that he had tapped actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone to serve as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood to bring it “BACK — BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”

U.S. film and television production has been hampered in recent years, with setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hollywood guild strikes of 2023 and the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Overall production in the U.S. was down 26% last year compared with 2021, according to data from ProdPro, which tracks production.

The group’s annual survey of executives, which asked about preferred filming locations, found no location in the U.S. made the top five, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Toronto, the U.K., Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia came out on top, with California placing sixth, Georgia seventh, New Jersey eighth and New York ninth.

The problem is especially acute in California. In the greater Los Angeles area, production last year was down 5.6% from 2023 according to FilmLA, second only to 2020, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Last, October, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit program to $750 million annually, up from $330 million.

Other U.S. cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco have also used aggressive tax incentives to lure film and TV productions. Those programs can take the form of cash grants, as in Texas, or tax credits, which Georgia and New Mexico offer.

“Other nations have been stealing the movie-making capabilities from the United States,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday night after returning from a weekend in Florida. “If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States we should have a tariff on movies that come in.

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Tourism spending last year hit $157.3 billion, up 3% from 2023, and created 24,000 jobs, according to a 2024 economic impact report from Visit California, the state’s nonprofit marketing agency.

California is still the No. 1 state for tourism and has the fourth largest economy in the world, but next year it expects a 1% decline in visitation and a 9.2% downturn in international tourism, “in direct response to federal economic policy and an impending ‘Trump Slump,’” according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Local LA tour groups and knickknack shops, usually booming at this time of year from spring break travel, have said the uncertainty of tariffs and the trade war’s effect on the stock market have turned people away from local travel.

But it’s not just local — Canadians have canceled plans to travel to California for events such as Coachella because of Trump’s aggressive 25% tariff on Canadian goods, worrying officials in desert towns that rely on snowbirds for income. Newsom announced a marketing plan to invite Canadians back to California after February figures showed a 12% drop compared with the same month in 2024.

In the Los Angeles area alone, the tourism and hospitality industry employs about 510,000 workers and supports more than 1,000 local businesses, according to the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board.

Last month, Tourism Economics, a Philadelphia-based travel data company, predicted that international travel to the U.S. could decrease 5% this year, with a 15% decline in travel from Canada.

In San Diego, home to Comic Con, some of California’s most beautiful beaches and the “Smithsonian of the West” in Balboa Park, tourism employs 1 in 8 residents and brought $14.8 billion in earnings in 2024. With 32.5 million visitors last year, it’s one of the country’s top travel destinations.

“Uncertainty is the new norm,” said Kerri Kapich, chief operating officer at the San Diego Tourism Authority.

Constant change makes it hard to plan ahead, she said. As travel slows or stays even from last year it will affect the local economy. Fewer hotel stays, fewer restaurant checks and less money spent in the community overall could mean fewer jobs too.

The uncertainty around international trade policy will affect the state budget, with unclear revenue and rising disaster recovery costs clouding the upcoming revision expected next week from Sacramento. Newsom sued the Trump administration in response, arguing that the president doesn’t have authority to levy international tariffs without congressional approval.

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The lawsuit, which Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed in federal court in San Francisco, argues that Trump does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally enact tariffs. Trump cited the United States’ large trade deficit to declare a national emergency earlier this month and impose sweeping import taxes on the rest of the world.

Visiting an almond farm in Turlock, which stands to lose export business to retaliatory tariffs, Newsom expressed anger over the “toxic uncertainty” of the president’s trade policy. He said the policies are harming California more than any other state and called the tariffs a betrayal of the voters who supported Trump because of his promise to bring down the cost of living. 

“This is recklessness at another level. The geopolitical impacts are outsized. The trade impacts are outsized,” Newsom said. “No rationale, no plan, no conscience to what it’s doing to real people.”

In a matter of days in early April, Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to establish a universal 10% tariff on all countries importing goods to the United States, with even higher reciprocal tariffs on some nations, then abruptly reversed course hours after they took effect, pausing most of the reciprocal tariffs while ratcheting up the import tax on China to 145%.

The chaos tanked the stock market, a huge risk for California’s forthcoming budget, which depends disproportionately on income tax revenue from capital gains earned by the wealthiest taxpayers. The state is also particularly vulnerable to other economic pain from the tariffs, because China is California’s largest trading partner, propping up manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and major ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland.

Other significant potential impacts for California include driving up the cost of construction materials just as Los Angeles begins rebuilding from a series of devastating fires that flattened several neighborhoods in January.

California’s economic outlook is declining

Newsom said today that, anticipating higher inflation and higher unemployment from the tariffs, he has downgraded California’s economic outlook in a revised budget proposal that he plans to unveil next month. Though did not speak to Trump about the lawsuit, he said he gave the White House a heads up.

In a statement, the White House slammed Newsom for undermining Trump’s efforts to rescue American industry.

“Instead of focusing on California’s rampant crime, homelessness, and unaffordability, Gavin Newsom is spending his time trying to block President Trump’s historic efforts to finally address the national emergency of our country’s persistent goods trade deficits,” spokesperson Kush Desai said.

In their lawsuit, the fifteenth that California has filed against the Trump administration since January, Newsom and Bonta asked a judge to immediately pause Trump’s tariffs.

The state contends that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act specifies many remedies a president can take in response to a foreign economic threat, but tariffs are not among them. Without this specific authorization from Congress, the lawsuit argues, Trump’s actions are “unlawful” and “unprecedented.”

Joining Newsom in Turlock, Bonta said Trump was “attempting to override Congress and steamroll the separation of powers” and that his “rogue and erratic tariffs” must be stopped to prevent further damage to California’s economy.

“Trump has had to resort to creating bogus national emergencies that defy reason,” Bonta said. “Bottom line: Trump doesn’t have the singular power to radically upend the country’s economic landscape. That’s not how democracy works.”

Alan Sykes, who teaches international trade law at Stanford Law School, told CalMatters that California’s case has merits, but it may be difficult to win.

He said the international powers act is ambiguous about tariffs; they are not explicitly mentioned in the law, though there is language allowing for the regulation of imports and exports. But Congress has also passed other laws over the years giving away their constitutional power to set tariffs. Sykes noted that Trump could shift to citing those statutes instead if his tariffs are struck down.

“Congress has badly over-delegated authority to the president in this regard,” Sykes said. “I’m not terribly optimistic that the courts are going to rein that in.”

The lawsuit continues Newsom’s shift back toward a more aggressively confrontational stance against the Trump administration. After the Los Angeles wildfires, the governor sought to reset his relationship with Trump as he lobbied for federal disaster aid.

But even though Congress has yet to approve any further assistance for Los Angeles, Newsom has begun more vocally opposing the president’s economic policies in recent weeks. 

In the wake of Trump’s tariffs announcement earlier this month, Newsom said California would pursue its own “strategic partnerships” on international trade. The state this week launched a new tourism campaign in Canada, which has been the second largest source of international visitors to California but has already seen a steep decline this year.

Newsom was unusually harsh when speaking about Trump’s tariffs in Turlock, calling them the “poster child” for stupidity and an example of “crony capitalism” because of the president’s willingness to exempt products from favored industries such as electronics manufacturing.

“This is the personification of corruption,” Newsom said. “How in the hell are we sitting by and letting this happen?”

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World War Fee President Trump’s reign of tariffs has been challenged on the left and right by the State of California and the Liberty Justice Center.

On April 2, 2025, the White House announced a broad set of tariffs on goods imported into the States, a tax that generally gets passed on to buyers.

The rates [PDF] range from 11 percent, for Cameroon and Democratic Republic of the Congo, to 145 percent to 245 percent for China, depending on the type of products at issue.

Last week, President Trump paused his retaliatory levies for three months and offered to lower the numbers, China excepted, amid a stock and bond market meltdown triggered by his global trade war. This week, the tariff situation remains in flux, leaving businesses and folks in a fog of uncertainty and facing recession if not depression.

The White House argued the tariffs are necessary to, in part, encourage more manufacturing on American soil and reduce the reliance on foreign factories. The Wall Street Journal called the President’s tariffs “the dumbest trade war in history.”

Rob Bonta, California Attorney General, announced a lawsuit [PDF] Wednesday seeking relief from the President’s allegedly unlawful use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to justify the imposition of his import taxes.

Bonta argues the tariffs will wreak havoc on California’s economy.

“The President’s chaotic and haphazard implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troubling, it’s illegal,” said Bonta. “As the fifth largest economy in the world, California understands global trade policy is not just a game.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom added, “President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy – driving up prices and threatening jobs. We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”

The California Office of the Attorney General claims the tariffs, at the very least, will shrink the US economy by $100 billion annually and increase inflation by 1.3 percent, at a cost to the average American family of $2,100.

The Tax Foundation, a non-profit think tank, estimated “Trump’s tariffs will reduce long-run US GDP by 0.8 percent” before any foreign counter-tariffs are considered.

California’s lawsuit, filed in a federal district court in the north of the state, argues the IEEPA does not give the President the power to impose tariffs.

“In the nearly 50-year history of IEEPA, no President has ever used IEEPA to impose tariffs, prior to the unprecedented actions of President Trump in 2025,” the California complaint reads. “IEEPA further provides that ‘[t]he President, in every possible instance, shall consult with the Congress before exercising any of the authorities granted by this chapter and shall consult regularly with the Congress so long as such authorities are exercised.'”

And no such consultation took place, the legal filing insists.

The Liberty Justice Center (LJC) describes itself as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-interest litigation firm that seeks to protect economic liberty, private property rights, free speech, and other fundamental rights.” Source Watch calls the LJC as a right-wing organization, citing ties to the conservative Illinois Policy Institute.

Nonetheless, the LJC makes similar arguments to those raised by California’s lawsuit in its complaint [PDF] against the White House’s drive to make Americans pay more for their foreign-made stuff, filed with the US Court of International Trade.

“The President of the United States claims the authority to unilaterally levy tariffs on goods imported from any and every country in the world, at any rate, calculated via any methodology – or mere caprice – immediately, with no notice, or public comment, or phase-in, or delay in implementation, despite massive economic impacts that are likely to do severe damage to the global economy,” the LJC complaint argues.

“If actually granted by statute, this power would be an unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive without any intelligible principle to limit his discretion.

“But Congress has not delegated any such power. The statute the President invokes — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – does not authorize the President to unilaterally issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs.”

The LJC lawsuit has been filed on behalf of five businesses allegedly harmed by the tariffs: Beverage importer VOS Selections, e-commerce biz FishUSA, plastic pipe maker Genova Pipe, educational electronics kit maker MicroKits, and cycling apparel firm Terry Precision Cycling.

“No one person should have the power to impose taxes that have such vast global economic consequences,” said Jeffrey Schwab, LJC senior counsel, in a statement. “The Constitution gives the power to set tax rates – including tariffs – to Congress, not the President.”

Both California and the LJC have sought relief from the judicial branch of the US government, which appears to be unable to compel the executive branch to return a man unlawfully deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without charge or trial.

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Trump’s threat, which he delivered on social media, came after China said it would retaliate against U.S. tariffs announced last week.

“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!

Trump has remained defiant as the stock market continued plunging and fears of a recession grew.

“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” he wrote.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,200 points as trading began on Monday morning, and the S&P 500 was on track to enter a bear market, which means falling 20% from a recent high. Even some of Trump’s allies are raising alarms about the economic damage, and financial forecasts suggest more pain on the horizon for U.S. businesses, consumers and investors.

The Republican president has insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing. He accused other countries of “taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!” on international trade and said “our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this.” He singled out China as “the biggest abuser of them all” and criticized Beijing for increasing its own tariffs in retaliation.

Trump also called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the tariffs could increase inflation, and he said “there’s a lot of waiting and seeing going on, including by us,” before any decisions would be made.

Investors expect the U.S. central bank to cut its benchmark interest rates at least four times by the end of this year, according to CME Group’s FedWatch, a sign that concerns about inflation will be eclipsed by fears of layoffs and a shrinking economy.

Trump spent the weekend in Florida, arriving on Thursday night to attend a Saudi-funded tournament at his Miami golf course. He stayed at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and golfed at two of his properties nearby.

On Sunday, he posted a video of himself hitting a drive, and he told reporters aboard Air Force One that evening that he won a club championship.

“It’s good to win,” Trump said. “You heard I won, right?”

He also said that he wouldn’t back down from his tariffs despite the turmoil in the global markets.

“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump said.

Goldman Sachs issued a new forecast saying a recession has become more likely even if Trump backtracks from his tariffs. The financial firm said economic growth would slow dramatically “following a sharp tightening in financial conditions, foreign consumer boycotts, and a continued spike in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than we had previously assumed.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would focus on trade with other countries besides the United States, saying there are “vast opportunities” elsewhere.

Trump said he spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to start trade negotiations. He complained on Truth Social “they have treated the U.S. very poorly on Trade” and “they don’t take our cars, but we take MILLIONS of theirs.”

Ishiba said he told Trump that he’s “strongly concerned” that tariffs would discourage investment from Japan, which has been the world’s biggest investor in the U.S. in the past five years. He described the situation as a “national crisis” and said that his government would negotiate with Washington to urge Trump to reconsider the tariffs.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro suggested countries would need to do much more than simply lower their own tariff rates to reach deals, saying they would have to make structural changes to their tax and regulatory codes.

“Let’s take Vietnam,” he said on CNBC. “When they come to us and say, ‘We’ll go to zero tariffs,’ that means nothing to us because it’s the non-tariff cheating that matters.”

On Monday, the president is scheduled to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory. He’s also meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and they’re expected to hold a joint press conference in the afternoon.

Trump has strived for a united front after the chaotic infighting of his first term. However, the economic turbulence has exposed some fractures within his disparate coalition of supporters.

Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager, lashed out at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing.” He said Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm led by Lutnick before he joined the Trump administration, stood to profit because of bond investments.

On Monday, Ackman apologized for his criticism but reiterated his concerns about Trump’s tariffs.

“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs,” he wrote on X.

Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News Channel that Ackman should “ease off the rhetoric a little bit.”

He insisted that other countries, not the United States, are “going to bear the brunt of the tariffs.”

Billionaire Elon Musk, a top adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal government, expressed skepticism about tariffs over the weekend. Musk has said that tariffs would drive up costs for Tesla, his electric automaker.

“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in a video conference with Italian politicians.

He added, “That certainly has been my advice to the president.”

Navarro later told Fox News that Musk “doesn’t understand” the situation.

“He sells cars,” Navarro said. “That’s what he does.” He added that, “He’s simply protecting his own interests as any business person would do.”

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo.

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The Inland Empire Economic Partnership recently released its economic outlook showing consumer pessimism about Trump’s vacillating economic policies. The consumer sentiment index plunged in February.

“Certainly the tariffs can and probably will have a negative effect on the economy of the Inland Empire,” said Paul Granillo, CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership. “Those are prices that are passed onto the consumer and so people buy less … If the tariffs cause a trade war and there’s a dip in exports from China or other places, that will affect the Inland Empire.”

The report offered some good news, though: its authors don’t expect a recession this year.

“There are currently no alarm bells from leading economic indicators,” wrote Manfred Keil, Robert Kleinhenz, and Kenneth P. Miller, researchers with Claremont McKenna College who authored the report.

“We need to say upfront that this year, more so than in most previous years, there is more uncertainty involved in our forecast. This is the result of President Trump announcing certain policies (tariffs on Mexico and Canada, for example), only to postpone them shortly afterwards.”

While tariffs can suppress economic growth, Trump’s on-again, off-again plans to impose them have been particularly confounding to anyone trying to manage inventory or hire workers.

“People don’t like uncertainty and certainly employers don’t like it,” Granillo said.

That instability could ripple through the warehouse and logistics industry, key industries in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That’s where retail giants Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target disperse imported goods from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through to the rest of the country.

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Other Trump policies could also scramble the region’s economic outlook.

Mass immigrant deportations might reduce the construction workforce as Los Angeles tries to rebuild more than 16,000 structures that burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires in January. And tariffs could constrict construction supplies from Canada, the report warned.

“Canadian lumber is a big part of the homebuilding industry; with tariffs and the current state of relations between the Trump administration and Canada, that’s problematic,” Granillo said. “And a lot of industries — healthcare, hospitality, construction — rely on immigrant labor. That’s going to be a cause of delays and rising costs of building.”

There’s another pernicious effect of tariffs on the Coachella Valley tourism sector, the report warned. The loss of goodwill is prompting some Canadian visitors to cancel U.S. travel.

“The Coachella Valley is the winter home of thousands of Canadians,” Granillo said. “And many of them are choosing not to come to the United States because of the tensions between the Trump administration and Canada.”

Granillo said he’s trying to get numbers on vacation cancellations, noting “it’s happening in real time right now.”

Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte said he’s received a couple letters from Canadian visitors saying they would not return to the desert because they were disappointed by tariffs against Canada. But he doesn’t know how widespread that is.

The Washington Post on Sunday published letters from some of those snowbirds who are choosing to feather their nests elsewhere this year. Most of the letters are characteristically polite, despite the boycott.

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