Trump Trade: President to place 25% tariff on Mexico, Canada imports

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

TARIFFS: President Donald Trump said the United States will put a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, repeating his warning to the two countries, which are top U.S. trade partners, according to Reuters.

Oil and gas companies in the U.S. are preparing for the possibility President Trump will thrust their business into disarray and drive-up prices by imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, Rebecca Elliott of The New York Times reports. While the U.S. is the world’s largest oil producer, the country’s refineries are designed to turn a mix of different types of oils into fuels. Approximately 60% of oil the U.S. imports come from Canada while 7% comes from Mexico. Publicly traded companies in the space include BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE).

TARIFF IMPACT: Argus downgraded Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) to Hold from Buy. Freeport-McMoRan is a well-run company with a strong track record in its industry, but they are facing near-term political challenges as deceleration in electrification initiatives is posing a threat for volumes in the near-term, the firm tells investors in a research note. Argus adds that while it expects copper demand to remain elevated in the long-term given global growth in electrification initiatives, the near-term tariff environment will bring challenges.

KEEP KEY RULES: The Consumer Federation of American and Mozilla wrote a letter to the White House, asking President Donald Trump to keep “key rules” in place for AI testing and transparency, Hayden Field of CNBC reports. The letter follows Trump’s decision to revoke former President Biden’s 2023 executive order on AI requiring new safety assessments, equity and civil rights guidance, and research on AI’s impact on the labor market. Publicly traded companies associated with artificial intelligence or AI, and other possible AI infrastructure firms include Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Palantir (PLTR), Broadcom (AVGO), Tesla (TSLA), and Intel (INTC).

STOCK CONSIDERATIONS: Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP) to $71 from $55, while keeping an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Last week, President Trump lifted the Biden administration’s pause on new Department of Energy permits for LNG export facilities and while this does not change the outlook for projects already under construction, it does ease the path for new facilities to advance, the firm tells investors. Given this, the firm now includes Cheniere’s (LNG) SPL Expansion project of 20 mtpa in its base case versus its prior view of this being in the bull case. Morgan Stanley also raised the firm’s price target on Overweight-rated Cheniere Energy to $255 from $195.