• Donald Trump has enacted sweeping tariffs on items imported from the country's global trade partners.
• The tariffs will cause price increases on goods from pantry staples to apparel, experts told BI.
• On average, consumers should expect to pay about $3,800 more this year, a Yale economist said.

If you thought the cost of groceries was high before, economists and supply chain experts have some bad news.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced sweeping 10% tariffs on goods from any country imported into the United States, and even higher tariffs for 60 trading partners with a persistent trade deficit with the US.

The wide-reaching "Liberation Day" tariffs impact countries including China and Japan, as well as the European Union, and territories near Antarctica inhabited only by penguins. They come in addition to existing tariffs against the United States' top trade partners, Canada and Mexico.

For consumers, the increased import costs caused by Trump's aggressive tariff plan are expected to result in higher prices for everything from pantry staples like coffee and sugar to apparel and larger purchases like cars and appliances.

Ernie Tedeschi, the director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale, said the price hikes are expected to increase the overall price level of goods in the United States by 2.3%, costing the average consumer household about $3,800 this year.

Tedeschi told Business Insider that the existing tariffs against Mexico and Canada alone account for an expected 1% price increase of about $1,700 per household. The "Liberation Day" tariffs announced Wednesday are expected to result in a further 1.3% hike, or $2,100 per household.

"So 1.3% may not sound like a lot to the normal person, but $2,100 is a meaningful amount," Tedeschi said. "Now, of course, that's an average, so if you open up the hood to that number, there's a distribution beneath that number."

Price hikes on pantry staples and produce

The exact intention behind Trump's tariff plan remains unclear — the president says his main goal is to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, but some analysts suspect he may be trying to trigger a recession to reduce interest rates purposely — and the stock market has tanked in response to the uncertainty.

Imports from some countries will be hit with higher tariffs than others, driving uneven price hikes across industries. For example, China — which largely imports machinery and appliances, furniture, toys, and electronics to the US — will be subject to a 54% tariff when combining the new tariffs (34%) with ones that have been previously announced. Goods from the European Union, which primarily imports medical and pharmaceutical products and motor vehicles, will be subject to a new 20% tariff.

Tedeschi said the cost of clothing items is expected to increase by about 8%. He added that pantry staples like sugar and coffee are expected to increase in price by about 1.3%, while fresh produce is likely to increase by about 2.2%.

"The luxury of eating our favorite fruits and vegetables regardless of the season is based on global imports with much coming from Central and South America," Margaret Kidd, an instructional associate professor of supply chain and logistics technology at the University of Houston, told BI. "Tariffs will make many of these staples unaffordable."

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020, maintains NAFTA's zero-tariff treatment for most agricultural products, textiles, apparel, and other goods that meet the trade agreement's rules of origin. But while the United States gets much of its produce from neighboring Mexico tariff-free, including tomatoes, avocados, and strawberries, other imports will face new price hikes — like grapes from Peru or bananas and mangoes from the Philippines.

"The USMCA is still in effect, so there are fruits and vegetables still covered under the deal and are tariff-free, but then some of them, they are not covered," Chris Tang, a UCLA professor who's an expert in global supply chain management and the impact of regulatory policies, told Business Insider.

Stockpiling and substitutions

Of course, consumers and businesses alike will try to find substitutions. Still, Tedeschi said it takes time to carve out new supply chain routes, for stores to expand their offerings, and for customers to find suitable alternatives to their typical favorites.

"So you may, literally and figuratively, eat the price increase in the short run, as you're figuring out what a proper substitute is, but there are areas where there will be substitutions available," Tedeschi said. "Let's say coffee, for example, imported from Colombia. If Starbucks has a supply chain agreement with Colombia, over time, they'll be able to shift that to another country or another supplier to mitigate the cost of the tariff, perhaps. Whereas, in the short run, like, in a month, Starbucks is not going to be able to do that, so if you want your latte, you're going to have to pay extra."

Some, like "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban, have suggested Americans start stockpiling goods now to avoid price hikes. They say retailers may raise prices and "blame it on tariffs," even if their goods are US-made. While the experts who spoke to Business Insider say that may be true, panic buying might further hurt supply chains and cause prices to go up, too.

"This kind of shift in demand would actually exacerbate this price increase," Tang said. "If the demand is more stable, then the price is more stable. If everyone starts stocking up on toothpaste and toilet paper, the prices go higher."

Low-income households will bear the brunt

And that's just the immediate impact on everyday consumable items.

The Consumer Technology Association estimated in a January report that Trump's tariffs could increase the price of laptops and tablets by 46-68%, video game consoles by 40-58%, and smartphones by 26-37%.

Car imports will see tariffs of upward of 25%, which could translate to $12,000 or more based on an average car price of $48,000. Some automakers have responded to the tariffs by offering employee pricing deals, while others paused work at their factories and started cutting staff, Business Insider previously reported.

Not every household will be affected by the tariffs similarly, either. In response to Trump's trade plan, Tedeschi said, lower-income households will spend about two and a half times more of their share of income than the highest-earning households will.

Kidd said pharmaceuticals, which represent $251 billion of imports, will face tariffs from 20% to more than 50%, which will disproportionately burden Americans without insurance and may set the path toward an increased deductible for those covered under an employer health plan.

"Lower income households are more likely to purchase imports. They spend a larger share of their income than higher income households do, and so they are more vulnerable to tariffs than higher income households are," Tedeschi said. "And obviously people care about food for food's sake, but that also has distributional implications as well. The more the price of food goes up, the more that disproportionately affects lower-income families as well."

• Trump's new tariffs could hurt Amazon and Meta due to their reliance on Chinese advertisers.
• Advertisers are expected to take refuge in performance advertising and TV sports.
• Analysts laid out scenarios for how ad and media companies could be affected.

Amazon and Meta could be big losers from President Donald Trump's new tariffs, ad industry analysts and insiders said.

Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff on products coming from all countries outside the US, but the tax is higher for certain ones. Those include China, which effectively faces a 54% tariff. Tech stocks fell sharply on the news.

Amazon and Meta get a lot of business from Chinese advertisers that are trying to reach American shoppers, and they could pause advertising or lose business.

"Retail media and digital media will be significantly impacted by these tariffs, especially because products shipped from China and Vietnam are meaningful to Meta and Amazon," Brian Wieser, a veteran advertising analyst, wrote in a note.

He estimated around $10 billion of Meta's US revenue comes from advertisers outside of US, mostly from China, and cited research showing China represents half of Amazon's top sellers on its marketplace in the US, which is likely its biggest ad driver.

Eric Haggstrom, director of market intelligence at Advertiser Perceptions, said the most immediate impact would be on quick-turn products like apparel and home goods.

"The biggest losers you're going to see right now are companies based on Chinese-based advertising: social media and retail media," he said.

Ad analysts stressed that tariffs would affect every product category and ad seller because of the global nature of many supply chains. Apple, notably, will likely get hit hard because China is its biggest manufacturing hub. But the situation is so fluid that it's impossible to predict with any certainty at this point.

"There's no sector that doesn't get hit by this," Wieser said.

Others argued that Amazon, Meta, and search ad-driven Google would be resilient because of their scale, measurability, and ability to drive outcomes.

"The retail media outlets are going to continue to win," said Nadja Bellan-White, CEO of M+C Saatchi Group, adding that advertisers' expectations for performance guarantees will be greater than ever. "They want to know if they spend X amount, they're going to get X result."

NewStreet Research analysts wrote that Pinterest, Reddit, and Snap would be the most challenged from an ad standpoint because they have smaller user bases than the likes of Meta. Reddit, for example, has strong user communities but a specific vibe that takes extra work for an advertiser to fit into. Big advertisers could retreat to the platforms they are most familiar with.

The tariffs upheaval comes as the ad industry prepares for its biggest showcase of the year, the television upfronts, when TV giants try to lock in large chunks of ad inventory.

"Advertisers are still going to want to lock in dollars when they need to run ads tied to product launches," Haggstrom said. "Advertisers want to make sure they are able to place their advertising at the right time. But these negotiations might take longer due to the whole economic and fiscal situation. This is a pretty major shock."

Live sports is driving a lot of the TV market because of its big, reliable, and ad-friendly audience, which could benefit players like Disney and NBCUniversal.

Sports is the watchword for advertisers as they worry about political backlash, longtime ad industry player Michael Kassan said.

"It's the safest place to be," he said.

Another view is that advertisers could be hesitant to lock themselves into big TV buy and could shift spending to always-available digital channels.

How Disney, Netflix, and WBD could be impacted

As for other media and entertainment companies, economic weakness that results from the tariffs could hurt those that rely on consumer spending, Morningstar analysts wrote. Most of those companies also make money from advertising and could see some slowdown there.

Media and entertainment stocks nosedived on the tariffs news.

Disney's parks and experiences generate most of its profit, and a recession would likely depress tourism and reduce attendance in that business. Disney's improving streaming business could make up for weakness in its experiences, though, the Morningstar analysts wrote.

Warner Bros. Discovery also has had recent streaming success that could provide a buffer, but it still has a big debt burden that could make it vulnerable if the credit markets tighten, the analysts wrote.

Netflix doesn't have the Disney-like moat of experiences to protect it, but it has a service that has reached utility-level status. That makes it unlikely that subscribers would cancel in droves, Morningstar analysts wrote.

Bernstein analysts, however, wrote that Netflix's growth abroad could slow if Europe imposes retaliatory tariffs. Netflix is the top streaming video service in the five largest European markets.

The company that remains the biggest wildcard: TikTok.

Some advertisers are embracing its ability to drive outcomes, thanks to steps it's taken to make it easier for marketers to manage and measure ad campaigns, NewStreet Research analysts wrote. However, other advertisers continue to hold back because of its potential for a ban or sale. Adding to the murkiness, its future could be tied to the tariffs, with Trump suggesting he could try to use them as a bargaining chip to get China to allow a sale of the app.

• Trump followed through on months of tariff threats, announcing levies on dozens of countries.
• Even before his so-called "Liberation Day," companies warned they would pass costs on to shoppers.
• BI is keeping track of companies that said they'd raise prices due to tariffs.

Companies could — and already have — started raising prices on Americans in response to President Donald Trump's latest slew of tariffs.

While firms raise prices for many reasons, some were blaming hikes on tariffs long before Trump's so-called "Liberation Day." Now that he's announced tariffs on over f180 countries on top of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, more price increase announcements are sure to follow. Autos, in particular, are an area of focus since Trump announced a 25% tariff on all car imports into the US.

"April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again," Trump said during his remarks.

Some economists have said that Trump's tariffs — and the uncertainty with his overall trade policy — could lead companies to raise prices on the goods they produce. "Both businesses and consumers are getting shaken by this approach," Heather Boushey, an economist who served on former President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Advisors, told reporters on a Tuesday press call.

At the end of 2024, some companies warned that they would consider raising prices on consumers if Trump implemented his broad tariff proposals. While it's still possible they could absorb some of the costs of the tariffs, here are the companies that have warned of price increases.

AutoZone

Philip Daniele, the CEO of the auto-parts company AutoZone, told analysts on a September earnings call that tariff policies had "ebbed and flowed over the years," and if Trump implemented more tariffs, "we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer."

"We generally raise prices ahead of that," Daniele said, adding that prices would gradually settle over time. "So, that's historically what we've done," he said.

Trump's 25% tariff on car imports is expected to increase manufacturing costs by anywhere from $4,000 to $12,000.

Columbia Sportswear

Tim Boyle, the CEO of Columbia Sportswear, told analysts on an October earnings call that the company was "very concerned about the imposition of tariffs. " He said that while he considered Columbia adept at managing tariffs, "trade wars are not good and not easy to win."

Boyle also told The Washington Post in October that the company was "set to raise prices."

"It's going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable for Americans," he said. He later said in a February interview with CNBC that "we need some surety about what is going to happen" before making price changes.

Stanley Black & Decker

Donald Allan, the CEO of the manufacturing company Stanley Black & Decker, told analysts in an October earnings call that the company had been evaluating "a variety of different scenarios" to plan for new tariffs under Trump.

"And obviously, coming out of the gate, there would be price increases associated with tariffs that we put into the market," Allan said, adding that "there's usually some type of delay given the processes that our customers have around implementing price."

Allan later said during a February earnings call: "Our approach to any tariff scenario will be to offset the impacts with a mix of supply chain and pricing actions, which might lag the formalization of tariffs by two to three months."

Walmart

Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC on November 19 that the company will likely raise prices if Trump's tariff proposals are implemented.

"We never want to raise prices," he said. "Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers."

The company's CEO, Doug McMillan, said during a February earnings call that "tariffs are something we've managed for many years, and we'll just continue to manage that."

Best Buy

Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said during the company's March earnings call that Trump's tariff plans are likely to increase prices.

"Trade is critically important to our business and industry. The consumer electronic supply chain is highly global, technical and complex," Barry said. "We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely."

Target

Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC in a March interview that Trump's 25% tariff plan on goods from Mexico and Canada would likely result in price increases on produce.

"Those are categories where we'll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days," Cornell said.

Volkswagen

According to a memo first reported by Automotive News, Volkswagen said it would place an import fee on vehicles made outside of the US in response to Trump's 25% tariff on car imports.

The company said it would provide more details on its pricing changes in response to the tariffs by mid-April.

Have a tip? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

• A mom of two grew up in an anti-vax community after her own mom said she had a bad reaction to a vaccine.
• Over the years, she started questioning her beliefs and now vaccinates her kids.
• Her sons just got the measles vaccine at 7 and 9.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a mom of two in South Carolina. She asked to remain anonymous to protect the privacy of her children and parents. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was an infant, I had a bad reaction to a vaccine. My mom couldn't wake me up for an entire day — at least, that's how she remembers it.

That was in the early 90s, and my parents were living at the intersection of conservative Christianity and crunchy parenting. They were surrounded by people who didn't vaccinate, and my reaction scared my mom. I'm the oldest of eight, and after that, none of us got vaccines. My parents fell deeper into anti-vax misinformation.

Vaccines were always a topic of conversation around me growing up. As a teen, I read a book by Jenny McCarthy in which she said she believes her son's autism was caused by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine — a theory that numerous scientific studies have debunked.

Despite that, I was never one of those people who makes being anti-vax their whole personality. I was somewhat open to vaccines—which is more common than stereotypes about anti-vaxxers would have you think. In my early 20s, I got a few vaccines before a trip to South America. I was concerned about getting sick there and thought vaccines could help protect me against pathogens like those that cause tetanus and diphtheria. I felt my adult body could handle a few vaccines.

The pandemic solidified my willingness to vaccinate

My husband had a similar upbringing. When our son was born 9 years ago, I started reading books and research about vaccines. I could see value in some of them, but I had a lot of questions and still wasn't comfortable vaccinating. But my son's pediatrician didn't seem to be interested in answering my questions about vaccines. I'm not sure if he didn't have the time, the knowledge, or the willingness to engage in the conversation.

The next two years were stressful for our family. It was a time of change, including the death of my mother-in-law while I was pregnant with my second child. I started questioning my parenting beliefs further, and critically evaluating how I'd been raised — including what I'd been taught about vaccines.

Immediately after that, the pandemic started. The COVID vaccine rollout a year later solidified my belief in vaccines. My husband works in a hospital, and I saw the immediate benefit vaccines had. Later, seeing how quickly the government paused the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine due to rare side effects was reassuring — I felt there really was accountability for vaccine safety. My husband and I started discussing vaccinating the kids.

I want other vaccine-hesitant parents to see my story

Getting the kids up-to-date with vaccines is a long process. It's still hard for me and them. Luckily, our new pediatrician is a great resource for creating a plan that works for us. They're behind a typical vaccine schedule, but we recently got their MMR vaccines, in part because of measles outbreaks in the US.

Even though I knew it was the right choice, it was hard for me. I was proud that I overcame this challenging belief I used to have. But I also want parents like me to see it is OK to change their minds.

Changing minds takes respect and time

One thing that felt very disingenuous to me in the past was when people advocating for vaccination said vaccines have no risk. Everything in life has risks, and it's important to acknowledge that. Today, I know the risk from vaccines is extremely minimal and comes with a huge reward. I put it in perspective by thinking about how driving is a much bigger risk and one I take every day.

I was a good mom when I wasn't vaccinating my kids, and I'm a good mom now. Any conversation about vaccines should start with that in mind. Get curious about a person's reasons for not vaccinating. Don't blame, judge, or try to change their minds — just ask about their beliefs. Maybe they'll ask about yours, too.

Don't expect immediate change. For me, this took years, and it's still difficult. But you never know when a piece of your conversation might stick with someone and open them to more honest, nonjudgmental conversations about vaccination.

• Roblox could move its corporation from Delaware to Nevada.
• Shareholders will vote on the possible move in May.
• Some companies have followed Elon Musk's decision to reincorporate his companies outside Delaware.

Delaware's reputation as the country's most corporate-friendly state has taken another hit.

Roblox is now the latest company to propose leaving Delaware, according to a note it sent to its shareholders this week. Numerous other major corporations — like Dropbox and Bill Ackerman's Pershing Square Capital Management — have also said in recent months they planned to leave Delaware. Meta, too, is rumored to be considering a move.

The trend began with Elon Musk, who moved Tesla and SpaceX out of Delaware last year after a Delaware judge sided with some Tesla shareholders to block Musk's $55 billion pay package.

In the note, Roblox's board of directors, who have already approved the move, urged shareholders to support the proposal.

"We believe that Nevada's corporate law framework and statutory regime aligns with Roblox's culture of innovation, values, and mission to connect the world with civility and optimism," the company said in its note to shareholders. "It also allows us to continue to build shareholder value by providing a supportive, predictable environment."

The ongoing exodus is devastating for Delaware, which has long been considered the country's most business-friendly state. According to Delaware's government, the state is home to some 2.2 million registered entities, which contribute millions to its revenue. In 2024, more than 80% of IPOs in the United States were incorporated in Delaware.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has moved to make changes to address concerns.

"The fact is Delaware is the best location in the world for a company to incorporate and that's thanks to our legal expertise dating back to 1792," Meyer told Business Insider in February. "But let's be clear: If any entity leaves Delaware, we're going to work to win them back."

Meyer said the balance of shareholder and management rights is one of the areas the state intended to address. "We're cognizant that there may be some things that need to change. We're going to work on them," he said.

On March 25, the governor approved a number of proposed changes. But for some corporations, those fixes might be too little too late.

A Roblox spokesperson told BI the company believed reincorporating in Nevada could "provide a stable and predictable legal environment in which the Company can focus on innovation and growth."

• Moving back home deepened my bond with my grandparents in unexpected ways.
• Losing my grandmother taught me to cherish every moment with loved ones.
• This experience showed me the power of slowing down and being present.

In July 2022, I moved back to my grandparents' house, thinking it would be temporary.

After a decade away for college and work, I saw it as a reset before finding my next place. My plan was simple: settle into my new job, find an apartment, and move out. But what I thought would be a short stay became one of the best decisions of my life.

We've always been close

I've always been close to my grandparents. As the oldest grandchild and only girl, I was their baby. Even when I lived far away, I visited during the holidays, always staying at their house. No matter how much time passed, being with them felt like home.

My grandmother was excited when I moved back. Before I moved, she called to ask, "What color do you want your room?" She insisted on personalizing my bedroom. I laughed at the thought of being in my 30s and having my grandmother decorate my room, but we settled on pink, which is my favorite color.

It was about the simple joys of life

Living with my grandparents wasn't about big adventures but about small, simple joys.

Each morning, my grandmother asked, "Do you want grits and eggs?" even though she knew the answer was always yes. Cooking was her love language, and making sure we had a hot meal brought her joy.

But Saturdays were for Cracker Barrel. She loved the Grandma's Sampler Breakfast, and we went every weekend. My mom often joined, turning it into a family tradition. I used to joke that I was tired of Cracker Barrel, but she never budged.

Looking back, I'm so glad she didn't.

These outings weren't just about the meal. She loved picking out greeting cards and taking her time to find the perfect ones. She often wrote me notes in them, reminding me how much I was loved. I still have them all.

At the time, I didn't think much of these routines. Now, they mean everything.

My grandmother died

I moved home thinking I had all the time in the world. Exactly two years later, on July 31, 2024, my grandmother went into the hospital while I was at a conference. That night, we learned the diagnosis: stage 4 cancer. We had just 30 days left with her.

One month. That's all the time we had to squeeze in every conversation. How do you say goodbye to someone who was just here?

Now, it's just me and my granddad. Our routines have changed, but I treasure them just as much. Every morning, he wakes me up with the same phrase: "Don't sleep too long, you gotta get up!" We take drives, talk about life, and share stories from his childhood and his journey to Chicago in the 1960s.

He always tells me how proud he is of me, and I hold on to it a little tighter each time.

Living with them changed my perspective

Before moving home, I was always focused on what was next: chasing my career goals and personal milestones and constantly checking boxes. But these past two years have changed my perspective.

I've learned that success isn't just about moving forward but about being present. It's about realizing that the little moments we often overlook are the ones that matter most.

My grandmother always told me, "Do everything from a place of love." That's how she lived, and I carry that lesson with me every day.

If I could go back to 2022, I'd tell myself to take it all in. I'd sit with my grandmother for just one more conversation. I'd let her drag me to Cracker Barrel more than once a week. I'd hold on to every moment a little longer.

But since I can't, I do the next best thing. I cherish every second with my granddad. I listen to his stories, laugh at his jokes, and show up because one day, these will be the moments I look back on, just as I do with my grandmother now.

• I grew up in tiny NYC apartments, so the thought of shopping at Costco was a distant luxury.
• However, my partner and I recently moved into a house in Los Angeles and now love it there.
• We get gas, protein bars, batteries, frozen fruit, and more at Costco each month.

I grew up in New York City and have always lived in small apartments without much storage space. It just never made sense for me to buy groceries in bulk.

However, my partner and I recently moved to Los Angeles, and now we have a whole house to ourselves. One of the best perks of our new life is taking monthly trips to Costco for all our favorite items.

Here are my favorite things to get there.

Gas is always at the top of our shopping list.

We tend to have a Costco shopping trip at least once a month, and I also go there about once a week to fuel my car.

Gas is expensive, especially in Los Angeles, and Costco typically has unbeatable prices — particularly for premium, which is what my Mini Cooper takes.

The best part is I can easily check the rate on a daily basis when using the store's app, which helps me determine if Costco gas prices are better than competitors that day.

We often buy a five-pack of steaks to use for dinners throughout the week.

My partner is a carnivore to the max. To him, nothing beats the five-pack of the Kirkland Signature boneless New York steaks.

They taste great on the grill or in a cast-iron pan and are often the star of a delicious weekday meal for us.

Ribs are also a must-buy.

We never skip out on buying Costco's ribs, especially since we can get over 9 pounds of meat for about $35.

The store also stocks pre-seasoned ribs, which are great when we're out of our homemade dry rub. We'll make these for ourselves or when having friends over for a barbecue.

Greek yogurt is a versatile staple.

I'm a huge fan of Kirkland Signature products, and I especially like the label's organic Greek yogurt.

It's perfect for making smoothies creamy or adding protein to granola.

I have plenty of room in my freezer for frozen fruit.

Now that I live in a house, I have room in my freezer to buy staples in bulk, like frozen strawberries.

I'm usually pretty happy with the prices of frozen fruit at Costco, so I pick up mixed berries or strawberries there.

Recently, I got 4 pounds of Kirkland Signature organic strawberries for $10, which felt like a steal compared to prices I've seen at other local grocery stores.

Kirkland Signature paper towels feel like a steal.

Again, now that I have the space, I'm able to buy more household staples in bulk.

We often pick up big packs of the Kirkland Signature paper towels and store them in our shed to optimize kitchen space.

These affordable paper towels are thick and powerful. One 12-pack of rolls often lasts us over two months, especially since we supplement the use of them with microfiber cloths.

I also get my batteries in bulk.

Since we live in a house with a ton of random gadgets, we somehow always need batteries. I try to keep a few varieties on hand.

Fortunately, we've found Kirkland Signature batteries to be fairly affordable and easy to buy in bulk. They especially came in handy during the recent California wildfires, when we lost power and needed to use flashlights.

I'm so glad we've found sugar-free Liquid IV.

Working from home, I get distracted and find myself not hydrating frequently or as much as I should. So, I like that I can use Liquid IV to boost the flavor and hydration power of my water with electrolytes and sugar-free flavoring.

I'm usually not able to find sugar-free Liquid IV at my local grocery stores, but Costco always seems to have some packs in stock.

We go through a lot of Kirkland Signature protein bars.

My partner and I typically each eat one Kirkland Signature protein bar a day.

I don't eat too much meat, so these bars help me easily get 21 grams of protein when I need a boost.

We usually buy the variety pack with 10 cookie-dough and 10 brownie bars. My partner likes the cookie-dough flavor, and I prefer the brownie one — a match made in heaven.

Dates are always in my cart.

I'm a huge date girl. Dates really are nature's candy.

I love eating them raw on their own, making date bark with some peanut butter and chocolate chips, or incorporating them into a smoothie or yogurt bowl.

They're a great source of fiber, potassium, and magnesium too.

Costco has some of the best deals on vanilla extract I've seen.

I love baking, but quality vanilla extract is a key ingredient in many recipes that can be expensive and hard to find in larger quantities.

At Costco, however, I can find 16 ounces of pure vanilla extract for under $12. To me, that's an amazing deal.

Nothing beats the Kirkland Signature three-pack of honey's flavor and price.

Kirkland Signature honey is one of our pantry staples since I'm a huge tea fan and love adding it to my drinks. I also recently got my partner into peppermint tea, which can be enhanced with a dollop of honey.

This honey tastes high-quality — and getting three 24-ounce bottles of it for under $13 feels like a bargain.

Costco sells my favorite pimple patches.

Yes, I still struggle with acne in my late 20s. I really like the pimple patches from Hero because they can hardly be seen when they're applied correctly.

I'll often wear one or two when I'm traveling on a plane, taking a between-Zoom-meeting stroll, or even having virtual calls.

The stickers help me avoid picking at my skin, and I'm a firm believer they make my pimples disappear much faster.

Having bulk containers of allergy meds has been a game changer.

As someone who deals with allergies, I always try to keep medication on hand that will help me deal with symptoms.

Name-brand options can get pricey, especially since I take tablets every day. So, I opt for Kirkland Signature allergy medicine.

The $5 bottle of 600 pills does my wallet a huge favor.

Big containers of ibuprofen can come in handy, too.

One of the first things we did when moving into our first place together was buy a first-aid kit. After that, we stocked up on some of our staple medications, like ibuprofen

I can get big tubs of CeraVe at the bulk retailer.

Since moving to Los Angeles, my skin has struggled to adjust to the dry climate. So, I've been buying bulk packs of the CeraVe moisturizing cream and using it morning and night.

Hydrating and not greasy, the cream has been my hero as of late. Plus, it's fairly affordable at Costco at $25 for two 16-ounce tubs.

I like to peruse the clothing section while I'm shopping.

Perhaps one of the best things about Costco is that it's truly a one-stop shop. I always check the retailer's clothing section and often pick up a piece or two.

My latest favorite purchase is the $18 two-piece lounge set from Honeydew. It's so cozy and especially great on long car or plane rides.

I have to end every Costco run at the food court.

Lastly, we end our shopping trip with celebratory Costco hot dogs, which cost just $1.50 each and come with a soft drink.

Click to keep reading Costco diaries like this one.

• Trump announced double-digit broad tariffs on imported goods from dozens of countries.
• They included new levies on all goods from key trading partners like China and the European Union.
• These are the top goods that the US imports from countries facing some of the toughest new tariffs.

President Donald Trump's slew of broad tariffs target dozens of countries, including many key US trading partners. A range of goods Americans rely on will be affected.

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to implement broad tariffs on over 180 countries that have placed tariffs on US goods. On top of a 10% baseline tariff, the president said he'll impose additional double-digit tariffs that the administration argued were based on tariffs and other trade barriers those countries placed on the US.

"They do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple. Can't get any simpler than that," Trump said during his remarks.

Some affected countries have already warned of retaliatory tariffs following Trump's announcement; Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said during a speech ahead of Trump's executive order that "we do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it."

Here are the top goods the US imports from some of the major countries hit by Trump's newest tariffs.

China

Trump announced a 34% tariff on goods imported from China in addition to the earlier 20% tariff he placed on them last month. The US imported $438.9 billion worth of goods from China in 2024.

Census Bureau data showed that radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment were major imports from China in 2024. Computers, apparel, and footwear were among the top goods imported based on dollar value.

European Union

Trump announced a 20% tariff on goods imported from the European Union. The US imported $605.8 billion worth of goods from the EU in 2024.

Some of the key imports from the EU based on 2024 data involve healthcare-related goods, including pharmaceutical preparations.

Vietnam

Trump announced a 46% tariff on goods imported from Vietnam. The US imported about $136.6 billion worth of goods from the country in 2024.

The top 10 imports from Vietnam in 2024 based on dollar value included computer-related and other equipment, furniture, and semiconductors.

Taiwan

Trump announced a 32% tariff on goods imported from Taiwan. The US imported about $116.3 billion worth of goods from the country in 2024.

The top 10 imports from Taiwan in 2024 included various kinds of electronic and computer equipment, fasteners, and semiconductors.

Japan

Trump announced a 24% tariff on goods imported from Japan. The US imported $148.2 billion worth of goods from the country in 2024.

Vehicles, vehicle parts, and motors were among the top 10 goods imported from Japan in 2024.

• Vice President JD Vance said Elon Musk will remain a key voice for the White House.
• "He's going to continue to be an advisor," Vance said, adding, "work of DOGE is not even close to done."
• The White House said Musk would leave the administration "when his work is complete."

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said that Elon Musk will always have a place in President Donald Trump's orbit.

"Of course, he's going to continue to be an advisor," Vance told "Fox and Friends" Thursday morning of Musk's status. "And by the way, the work of DOGE is not even close to done. The work of Elon is not even close to done."

Speculation has swirled over Musk's future, given his central role in Republicans' failure to elect a conservative judge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Musk and his super PAC spent at least $20 million on the race, which the billionaire said was central to the survival of "Western civilization."

Some Republican lawmakers have also chafed at the White House DOGE office's sweeping firings amid pushback from their constituents. Musk is considered to be the DOGE office's de facto leader.

Vance's comments underline how central Musk has become to Trump's orbit. The world's richest man spent over $291 million on Republican candidates ahead of the 2024 election, mostly focused on helping Trump reclaim the White House. Musk also owns X, which has positioned itself as the leading social media platform for conservatives. Musk also reportedly pushed Trump to pick Vance, who has a background in venture capital, as his running mate.

"Fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an advisor of both me and the president, and he has done a lot of good things," Vance said.

Musk, Vance said, signed up for a roughly six-month commitment. It's unclear what the vice president meant, given that Musk faces a 130-day deadline as a special government employee. The 130-day period would end in either late May or early June, though there's little teeth to the actual deadline beyond the possibility of a lawsuit.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed a Politico report that said Trump had told members of his inner circle that Musk would leave the administration soon. Musk also called the report "fake news."

"Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete," Leavitt wrote on X.

Trump's executive order setting up the DOGE office envisioned it ending by the 250th anniversary of US independence, July 4, 2026. In the past, the White House has also been murky about the 130-day timeline.

Telsa shares went up after the Politico report, illustrating hopes that Musk will return his focus to the automaker, which has borne the brunt of the backlash to the billionaire's time in the Trump administration.

• Swiss watches may increase prices due to a new 31% tariff by the US, analysts say.
• Rolex, a leading Swiss brand, faces challenges in offsetting these increased costs.
• The tariffs, imposed by Donald Trump, affect Swiss and European Union watch imports.

If you're thinking of buying a Rolex watch, you might want to act now to avoid potential price increases.

The biggest names in luxury watches mostly hail from Switzerland — a country that just got hit with Donald Trump's new tariffs. The reciprocal tariff rate is 31% for Switzerland and 20% for the European Union.

Rolex, a privately held company, produces its watches in Switzerland and ships them out to customers across the globe. It's one of the most sought-after luxury watch brands, with pieces that start at over $5,000 and which can reach over $50,000 depending on the material and exclusivity of the timepiece.

JPMorgan analysts said they see potentially the "most pressure on the Swiss watchmakers," including the owners of Cartier, a Rolex rival in the watch space.

With a 31% tariff rate, Rolex, along with its Swiss competitors, will be faced with few options to offset the cost of selling their products to the US. Like many retailers finding out about the official Trump tariffs, it'll have to adapt swiftly.

The levy, if fully passed on to customers, could mean that a $10,000 brand-new Rolex in the US could cost an extra $3,100 if tariffs are upheld. With additional sales tax — about 8% in many states — the final price could reach over $14,000, Paul Altieri, CEO of Bob's Watches, said.

Representatives for Rolex didn't immediately respond to a message left by Business Insider requesting a comment.

If Rolex raises its prices in June, it'll be the second time the watches have gone up in 2025. As the price of gold surged, certain Rolex models made of gold increased in price by as much as 8% on January 1.

• In anticipation of tariffs, I made a hasty last-minute panic buy at Temu.
• Donald Trump has said he'll close the loophole that lets Temu and Shein ship directly to customers without duties.
• Will American consumers like me be able to break their addiction to cheap foreign goods? Who knows!

Last night, as "Liberation Day" was taking effect and the tariffs on imports were being revealed, I did what any American might do in a crisis: I panic-shopped.

I hit up what I thought might be most likely to go extinct: the sweet, sweet low prices on fast fashion and junky plastic that comes straight from China. So, as I read over tweets that were speculating that the tariff rates were determined by ChatGPT, I went onto Temu and frantically placed an order. One last hurrah.

As I placed an order for several bubble wands and machines (I have a child's birthday coming up, so this was a somewhat intentional shop, admittedly), I couldn't help but wonder: Wow, is this it?

Will this be the end of a $2.74 mousepad that leaks goo all over me (which happened with an actual mousepad I bought from Temu)?

Is this the end of kids making fun of their parents for becoming "Temu victims?"

Is this the end of Temu being used as a new slang insult?

Right now, I'm not sure.

I checked the prices of the items I bought late Wednesday again on Thursday morning, post-tariff announcement. (It's not clear when exactly each tariff will start to take effect.) So far, no change in prices. The Temu website had no pop-ups or banners or warnings that prices might change due to the new tariffs.

Temu is in a bit of a unique position compared to other consumer goods you might buy that were made in China. Temu and fast-fashion retailer Shein's whole business is shipping your order directly from China, using the de minimus exemption — an old law that allows items under $800 to be shipped to the US duty-free.

Basically, if Walmart imports T-shirts made in China, it has to pay tariffs, which will likely be passed onto me in the price tag when I buy one at the store. But if I order a single T-shirt from Shein, it ships directly to me with no duty taxes at all — which is one of the ways Temu and Shein were able to keep prices so low.

So, you might think that Temu would be uniquely spared from the tariffs. But Trump just signed an executive order that would close that de miminis loophole, and add on either a 30% duty or a flat $25 fee (which would go up to $50 by June 1).

The White House's official announcement of the order, which is set to go into effect May 2, says that this is to stop the flow of illegal synthetic opioids like fentanyl that are shipping into the US from China through the mail. I don't know all that much about the illegal drug trade, but I always assumed the margins are fairly healthy; it may be an industry able to absorb a tariff.

Hopefully, my Temu order will arrive before May, and I'll have been able to sneak under the wire with my last reckless sprint of consumerist impulse. Am I proud of this? Absolutely not. Trust me, I feel as bad as I should.

(The announcement from the White House was rough for Temu's parent company, PPD Holdings, and others, like Alibaba, whose stocks plummeted on Thursday.)

I have no idea what will happen with Temu and Shein or other retailers that have transformed their industries in the last few years by offering unbeatable prices. Will consumers finally kick their habit of hyperconsumption? Will it put these companies out of business if shoppers have to pay big duty fees? No clue!

Right now, we're in a weird moment where it's not totally clear what's going to happen (although it seems … probably "bad.") I only tell you how I feel:

• TikTok is looking at a possible ban in the US. Again.
• But remember what happened the last time: Donald Trump simply ignored a law that said the app would be banned if it didn't have US owners.
• Sometimes, history really does repeat.

TikTok could be banned in the US in the next few days. Or it could stay.

Perhaps it will have new owners. Maybe it won't.

Yes, you've heard all of this before: In January, the enormously popular video app was slated to go dark in the US — and in fact, did go offline for a few hours — because of a law forcing the Chinese-owned company to shut down or find new owners for its US operations.

Then Donald Trump signed an executive order pushing back the date of the ban until April 5 — that's Saturday. So here we are.

In the newest version of the story, the most likely outcome is a deal where a coalition of US investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Blackstone, and Silver Lake, buys a 50% stake in TikTok's US operations; in that proposal, some of the existing investors in ByteDance, TikTok's current owner, keep a stake as well. We've also heard about a flurry of last-minute bids from Amazon and other players. Vice President JD Vance says there will be some kind of deal announced before the deadline.

A TikTok sale needs one big sign-off

The problem with any of these would-be solutions: It's entirely unclear whether ByteDance would agree to divest its US operations, and/or whether the Chinese government would allow it. Without those sign-offs, it doesn't matter what kind of deal structure Trump and US investors would like.

Trump has previously said he might convince Chinese officials to OK a deal by reducing tariffs on China. But as of Thursday, we have no idea if those negotiations are happening; Dan Primack, the well-sourced Axios finance reporter, says his sources say "they've still not heard of direct discussions between the US and Chinese governments on a particular proposal." I've asked TikTok and the White House for comment.

So it's entirely possible that on Saturday, there still won't be an actual deal — as opposed to a proposal — in place to transfer majority ownership of TikTok's US operations to non-Chinese owners, which was the thrust of the law passed by Congress, signed by Joe Biden, and upheld by the Supreme Court.

And If that's the case, what happens on Saturday?

My hunch: Nothing.

Or, to be more specific: Trump announces that the proposal he's announced is a deal, regardless of the facts. And TikTok keeps operating as normal, and the can keeps getting kicked down the road.

After all, we've already seen Trump ignore a TikTok deadline in the past.

In January, even before he was president, Trump was telling various technology companies to ignore the TikTok law that went into effect on January 19. And his executive order specifically instructs the US attorney general not to enforce the law "even after the expiration" of the 75-day extension Trump granted himself.

And just to keep repeating this: While the existing TikTok law does allow the president to grant a one-time, 90-day extension before TikTok is banned, that's only supposed to happen if there is an actual plan to divest, and there is "evidence of significant progress" toward making that happen, and there are "relevant binding agreements" in place.

But obviously none of that was happening on January 20, when Trump signed his executive order pushing the ban back. And it doesn't seem to be happening yet this time around.

We're in Trump's world now

In a normal, pre-Trump world, you'd expect someone — perhaps a TikTok rival like Meta, perhaps a member of Congress who signed the TikTok sell-or-ban bill last year — to raise serious objections to the fact that the Trump administration appears to be ignoring a law. Perhaps someone might have even challenged the White House in court.

But in the world we live in today, it looks like TikTok will be in the US for some time to come. No matter who owns it.

• Automakers are responding to Trump's latest round of auto tariffs, announced Wednesday.
• Ford is offering customers an employee discount, while VW is adding an "import fee" to cars.
• Stellantis has paused production at plants in Canada and Mexico and plans to lay off 900 workers.

The Trump administration's fresh wave of tariffs sent shock waves through the automotive industry on Thursday.

Automakers have responded to the impending trade war in various ways, from offering discounts to shoppers who hope to avoid future price increases to adding import fees on vehicles built outside the US.

The "draconian" trade policies, as one Wall Street analyst called them, will also affect autoworkers, with Stellantis pausing production at two assembly plants in Mexico and Canada.

Wall Street believes the tariffs could cost the auto industry more than $80 billion and slash Detroit's Big Three's earnings by up to 60%, thanks to an additional $5,000 of input costs per vehicle.

Here's how the industry is responding:

Ford offers employee discounts to all customers

Ford announced on Wednesday that it would make employee pricing available to consumers for the next two months.

"In times like these, talk is cheap. At Ford, we believe in action," Rob Kaffl, Ford's director of US sales and dealer operations, said in a press release.

The discount, which ends June 2, applies to all Ford and Lincoln models except Raptors, the 2025 Expedition and Navigator SUVs, and Super Duty trucks.

How much a consumer saves depends on the vehicle, but it could easily run into the thousands. The discount would be applied on top of any other deals or promotions a dealership is offering, the company said.

Ford declined to confirm whether the tariffs would lead to higher sticker prices.

A company spokesperson told Business Insider that it has a 74-day supply of vehicles in stock that haven't been affected by tariffs, compared to 50 days for GM and 24 days for Toyota. (Around 60 days of supply is considered healthy in a normal economic environment.)

Analysts say Ford is one of best best-positioned US automakers to weather the tariffs.

Stellantis paused work at two factories and laid off hundreds at others

Stellantis, which owns former Chrysler brands like Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, has paused production at its Windsor assembly plant in Canada and Toluca assembly plant in Mexico, a spokesperson said Thursday.

The Windsor plant, which makes Pacifica/Voyager minivans and Charger Daytona EV muscle cars, will be offline for two weeks. It plans to resume operations the week of April 21.

The Toluca plant, which builds Jeep Compass and Wagoneer S SUVs, will stop work for the rest of April.

The production stoppage at these two facilities resulted in the temporary layoffs of 900 workers from the company's powertrain and stamping plants in Michigan and Indiana, the spokesperon said.

VW tacks on a special fee for tariff-affected cars

The German automaker Volkswagen has confirmed it will add an "import fee" to the sticker prices of vehicles affected by the tariffs, a spokesperson said. The import fee will be added to the destination charge, which is tacked onto the price of a new car.

It's unclear how much the tariffs will affect the cost of new VW cars as no final pricing decisions have been made, the spokesperson said.

Its top-selling Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport midsize SUVs are made in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its other top sellers — the Jetta sedan, the Taos SUV, and the Tiguan SUV — are all made in Puebla, Mexico.

• President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs have arrived.
• On Wednesday, he announced a 10% base tariff on all countries, with higher rates on some countries.
• Markets are plummeting, but people are trying to get through it via memes.

Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" means that tariffs are suddenly everywhere. That means tariff memes are also everywhere.

The US president on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing a 10% baseline tariff on all countries, taking effect Saturday, and adding reciprocal tariffs.

Global markets plummeted on the news.

But if there's one thing you can count on amid any turmoil — financial or otherwise — it's that some people will always have a sense of humor about it, even if it's a little dark. So, social media users have been expressing their economic fears and anxieties the modern way: with memes.

Here are some of the best ones:

Enjoy, for example, the picture showing Trump yelling, "Pay the tariffs!" at a group of penguins.

Trump's tariffs include the Australian territory of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands — a pair of sub-Antarctic remote islands uninhabited by humans but home to penguins, sea birds, and seals.

The meme refers to one that originated in 2017, in which Trump appeared as if he was yelling at an 11-year-old boy who had asked to mow the White House lawn.

Another meme shows Marvel superhero Wolverine lying in bed, looking longingly at a Studio Ghibli-fied picture of former US Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, holding a sheet of new $1 bills. Mnuchin was Treasury Secretary during Trump's first term in office.

Users of OpenAI's ChatGPT have recently started a trend of using the AI chatbot to turn regular photos into pictures in the distinctive style of Studio Ghibli, the animation studio behind films like "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle."

In the original photo in 2017, Mnuchin was at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., to see the first run of $1 bills featuring his signature. At the time, the image of the chicly dressed couple posing with money quickly drew comparisons to James Bond-esque villains, but the new image makes it seem like the person who posted it might have preferred that to today's market chaos.

A different meme shows Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff in season 3 of "The White Lotus," a zeitgeisty — and heavily memeified — HBO show. He plays a toxic finance bro on a family vacation.

"Look, the prices of goods going up and my portfolio going down isn't necessarily a bad thing, because I love working and that just means I need to grind even harder now," the person captioned the photo.

And who could forget the famous "Arrested Development" meme of rich matriarch Lucille Bluth estimating a banana costs $10? The joke is supposed to highlight how wealthy and out-of-touch Bluth is, but "unironically this is what's happening in America right now," one person wrote on X.

"Just got off the phone with my financial advisor, he just told me my 401k is now a 400k," a different person tweeted, alongside a photo of late comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield.

And finally, one user tweeted an image of a stock heatmap almost entirely red with a superimposed image of Vice President JD Vance asking, "Have you said thank you once?"

Vance was photoshopped to appear to have a larger face, which has been a trending meme in recent weeks. The question is a reference to Trump and Vance's contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. In that meeting, Vance chastised Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit and asked him, "Have you said thank you once?" regarding American aid to the country, which Russia invaded in 2022.

• The Department of Education announced public hearings to revamp key student-debt relief programs.
• The department said it would examine limiting eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
• It also is looking at avenues to streamline existing income-driven repayment plans.

President Donald Trump's administration is taking the next step toward revamping key student-loan forgiveness programs.

On Thursday, the Department of Education announced it would be holding two public hearings to solicit feedback on its plans to refine the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans.

This is part of the negotiated rulemaking process, a lengthy process federal agencies are required to undergo to change existing regulations. The department said that public hearings will be held in person on April 29 and virtually on May 1.

"Not only will this rulemaking serve as an opportunity to identify and cut unnecessary red tape, but it will allow key stakeholders to offer suggestions to streamline and improve federal student aid programs," Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron said in a statement.

A draft document the Department of Education posted on the Federal Register stated its intent to examine eligibility for PSLF, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years. It also said it would be looking to streamline the Pay As You Earn plan, which caps borrowers' monthly payments at 10% of their discretionary income; and the income-contingent repayment plan, which caps borrowers' monthly payments at 20% of their discretionary income.

Trump signed an executive order in early March aimed at limiting PSLF eligibility, and the announcement of public hearings appears to be the next step in carrying out that order. The department's draft document said that the public sessions would work on "refining definitions of a qualifying employer for the purposes of determining eligibility" for PSLF.

These moves come as the Trump administration attempts to dismantle the Department of Education altogether. On March 20, Trump signed an executive order to begin eliminating the department, following the department's firing of over 1,300 workers just over a week prior.

While the Trump administration cannot eliminate a federal agency without Congress, it has taken steps to gut the agency and is beginning to examine ways to transfer some of the department's capabilities, like student loan management, to other agencies.

Some student-loan borrowers in public service previously told Business Insider that they were concerned about the fate of their relief under Trump's proposed changes.

"We've sacrificed a big part of our lives, in order to stay within this program, and you can't just change the rules as you go," a borrower enrolled in PSLF said.

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• Trump's tariff announcement has some GOP senators rattled.
• "I am not a fan of tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on the American people," said Sen. Ted Cruz.
• But several declined to back a new bill to reign in Trump's tariff powers.

As the markets reel from President Donald Trump's Wednesday tariff announcement, senators in his own party are dealing with the fallout.

Speaking with reporters at the Capitol on Thursday, several GOP senators said that Trump's tariffs are likely to cause significant economic disruption in the short term. And several indicated they believe — or hope — that he's just negotiating.

"I'm sure there are ongoing discussions today with certain countries, which I'm not privy to," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said. "But, you know, it's pretty rough right now."

"I think we're going to have some volatility for a while here, until we get some more answers," Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said.

It's not just the more establishment-minded Republicans who are sounding a skeptical note on Trump's moves. It's also doctrinaire fiscal conservatives who are sounding the alarm.

"I am not a fan of tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on the American people," Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said. "If the result of these tariffs is that other countries lower their tariffs on American goods, and the United States, in turn, lowers these newly imposed tariffs on foreign goods, that result would be a very good result. That's where I hope we go."

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of four GOP senators who took a symbolic vote to block Trump's power to impose tariffs on Canada on Wednesday, said that the market turmoil showed that he's not the only one concerned about Trump's trade policies, even if he's one of the only GOP senators who's been speaking up until now.

"That's millions and millions of people, buying and selling stocks, that are very, very concerned that tariffs are going to cause the economy to go the wrong direction," Paul said.

Other Republicans say they're in wait-and-see mode.

"He believes this is exactly what he has to do, okay? And I hope he's right. I hope the naysayers are wrong," Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said. "I don't know."

"I have pretty strong feelings that it's going to be beneficial in the long run," Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said. "So the issue is going to be, can we sustain the short-term consequences of this."

GOP senators decline to assert congressional authority on trade

Much like DOGE's cuts, Trump's tariff announcement has revived a conversation about the declining power of the legislative branch.

The US Constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, passed in 1977, has allowed presidents from both parties to impose tariffs on their own.

To address that, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington introduced a bill on Wednesday that would make tariffs subject to congressional approval within 60 days.

But as with DOGE, other Republicans largely demurred on whether they'd support it, eager not to limit Trump's power.

"We've made a mistake in delegating a lot of power to the executive branch," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said. "But that's not just a feature of this administration."

"I think there's something to be said for having congressional review," Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said, before quickly adding: "Then that becomes incendiary, and everybody's going to report that there's a rift between us and the administration, which is bull… I caught myself."

"If they want to revisit that, you know, more power to them," Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said. "But I think on the underlying policy, let's give the president time to work."

"By the way, I think the China tariffs should be even higher," he added.

• Amazon projects Rufus to indirectly contribute over $700 million in operating profits this year.
• Rufus' product recommendations increase consumer spending on Amazon's marketplace.
• Amazon plans to expand Rufus globally and enhance its AI model for better service.

Amazon has rosy projections for its Rufus AI shopping assistant.

According to an internal planning document obtained by Business Insider, Amazon expects Rufus to indirectly contribute over $700 million in operating profits this year.

The outlook is part of a metric called "downstream impact," an internal financial figure Amazon uses to measure a product or service's potential to generate additional consumer spending across Amazon's vast offerings.

For example, Rufus' product recommendations can lead to more purchases on Amazon's marketplace — and an increase in its DSI. Rufus, a free service that answers everything from product details to special promotions, generates no direct revenue.

Based on this metric, Rufus lost an estimated $285 million in 2024. By 2027, however, it is expected to reach $1.2 billion in DSI profit contributions, the document showed. The estimates, after operating costs and server payments, include the income from ads placed within Rufus' responses to user inquiries.

The bullish forecast may explain why Amazon is aggressively expanding Rufus and its other AI search offerings. Amazon's leadership previously told employees that such AI projects are "absolute" top priorities.

Rufus, which launched in February 2024, has received mixed reviews from early users, but Amazon continues to invest in this space. Just last week, Amazon unveiled another AI-powered shopping discovery app called Interests. Last year, the company disclosed that Rufus answered "tens of millions" of customer questions in its first six months of operation.

It also shows how Amazon justifies its investment in one of its flagship AI products, even as DSI has received more scrutiny lately.

Amazon's spokesperson declined to comment.

'Positive lift on downstream spending'

To be sure, Rufus' DSI forecast is small for Amazon, given the company's $68.6 billion in total operating income last year. But early results indicate Rufus has huge potential with more room to grow.

The document said initial results showed customers using Rufus had a "positive lift on downstream spending," and the impact only increased with more engagement.

Amazon has significant expansion plans for Rufus.

This year, Amazon expects $711.7 billion worth of products on its site to be eligible for Rufus' many features, like product recommendations and comparisons, up from $164 billion in 2024, according to the document. That number is expected to reach $849.8 billion in 2027.

Amazon also wants to roll out Rufus to at least 13 international marketplaces this year, the document said. Currently, Rufus is available in the US, the UK, and India, and a handful of European countries.

The document said Amazon plans to fivefold the size of the AI model powering Rufus, internally called Shopping LLM, to improve the quality of its answers. The increased model parameters to Shopping LLM were also factored into DSI, but it is unclear when this will be implemented. With the planned improvement, Amazon hopes to launch a new service that leverages Rufus to provide a wider selection and "seamlessly purchase on behalf of the customer," it added.

Rufus is already becoming more prevalent across Amazon. In recent weeks, some Amazon sellers who used the Rufus app discovered an update that auto-pops up Rufus when they use trigger phrases like "how to" or "what is" in the search bar.

For some products, Rufus automatically launched with its own response before search results showed up. Amazon also started testing ad placements within Rufus' responses, Adweek reported in September.

'Personalize more'

Amazon isn't the only retailer with a homegrown AI shopping assistant. Others, like Walmart, Target, and Instacart, have launched their own AI-powered search apps in recent months.

These apps may still be in their infancy. A recent survey by e-commerce analytics firm Profitero showed that just 10% of US customers used a retailer's AI chat assistant when searching for products. By comparison, 37% of shoppers used the search bar on the retailer's websites or apps, and 29% used promotion and deal pages.

For Rufus, the other challenge is negative reviews.

Andrew Hamada, a former Amazon employee who now runs seller agency Reason Automation, wrote on Linkedin last month that Rufus misses basic catalog information and often gives inaccurate answers.

"In our experience, Rufus rarely works," he wrote.

There's also the question of DSI's true value.

Amazon's DSI is not the most scientific metric, and several Amazon employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, have raised questions about the fuzzy math behind the numbers.

For instance, it was never clear whether Prime Video or Amazon's shipping team should claim more DSI for the Prime membership revenue, which offers both services as a perk, one of the people said. Recently, Amazon has been deemphasizing Alexa's DSI metric, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Still, Amazon's retail CEO Doug Herrington remains a strong supporter of Rufus. During an internal all-hands meeting earlier this year, Herrington said AI-driven "personalization" is a major focus area for Amazon, mentioning Rufus and other search features as examples.

"AI is really allowing us to personalize more and more of the shopping experience on Amazon," Herrington said.

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• For years, I'd been returning most items I bought at Target.
• I thought the hack was ridding my house of clutter and keeping my spending low.
• But my kid made me feel ashamed of the hack, and I realized I was misusing a loophole.

It all started with matching family outfits.

I wanted a family portrait in which my family of seven wore similar outfits — some combo of pink and white. I spent hundreds of dollars at Target on shoes, dresses, pants, and shirts.

After the photo was taken, no one in my family wore those outfits again. My five children, ages 11 to 1, expressed how much they hated the clothes. My girls never liked the shirts in the first place, complaining that they were itchy and tight. The boys didn't like the pink stripes on theirs.

Every time I saw the pieces we wore only once hanging in the closet, I felt a slow creep of regret and frustration. The discomfort of those negative feelings ultimately spurred me into action.

I didn't have the energy to sell the outfits on Facebook Marketplace. My local consignment shop doesn't take Target's brands, and they weren't interested in the adult items.

I wondered if I could bring everything back to Target. To my surprise, the Target sales associate accepted all the items — no questions asked — for a full refund. I didn't even have a receipt or the tags.

Suddenly, I unlocked a new hobby, but in the end, I felt ashamed of my hack.

I've continued returning most items I buy at Target

For the last three years, I've been shopping at Target, using the Circle app, and returning everything we don't use more than once.

Before heading to Target, I perused the house in search of items I could return. For example, I recently discovered a cake stand and pitcher we used for my daughter's 11th birthday brunch. If we had another party, she'd want a new aesthetic, and the items would continue to gather dust. I returned both and got back $20.

I also recently went through my boys' clothing, which is mostly Target's Cat & Jack brand. I found khakis, Hawaiian button-downs, and graphic T-shirts. They no longer wear these clothes because they've grown out of them.

The Cat & Jack return policy allows customers to return any item to Target for a full refund within one year of purchase — as long as they have the original receipt.

I returned all those clothes for over $100.

There were some benefits to returning most of my purchases

I found that buying, using, and returning items alleviated some of the financial and organizational mental load of parenthood.

My kids could participate in activities — like family photos, Halloween costumes, and school spirit days — without accumulating clutter. I thought of it as the ultimate decluttering technique.

The financial benefits were a bit murkier. Of course, I was just getting the money back that I already spent a few weeks prior — to buy more items.

But recycling the same cost kept me from overbuying. I bought what we needed, keeping our family spending budget low.

Plus, there was a dopamine award. I was getting what I wanted at Target without seemingly spending extra money.

I now feel ashamed of this hack

I thought I discovered the ultimate parenting hack, but I started to wonder if I was doing the right thing.

"Just pick something! We can always return it," my daughter yelled at her sister in a store once.

That's when my "greatest parenting hack" sounded more like a dirty little secret coming out of my 11-year-old daughter's mouth.

That moment forced me to reflect on the integrity of this behavior. Returning things felt like the responsible thing to do. But was it? Is buying something with the intent to use it and return it wrong?

Suddenly, it felt like I was misusing a financial loophole. My hack reminded me of credit cards: You can buy whatever you want, especially things you can't afford, but in the long run, you're just worsening your credit — and screwing yourself over.

I didn't want to teach my kids to think that when they grew up, they could buy whatever they wanted as long as there was a loophole. I want to teach them smart financial literacy and consumer decisions — not ones like returning everything you buy.

So, I'm trying to slow down with the returns and set a good example for my kids. Now, when I head to Target, I try not to bring any items with me.

Editor's Note: According to the company's website, "Target reserves the right to deny returns, refunds, and exchanges including but not limited to prevent fraud, suspected fraud, or abuse." The company also accepts unopened items within 90 days of purchase.

• Kevin Scott, the CTO of Microsoft, says 95% of code will be AI-generated within five years.
• In a podcast interview, he said he doesn't expect humans to be entirely cut out of programming.
• He said AI tools will allow smaller teams to tackle larger-scale projects.

Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott expects the next half-decade to see more AI-generated code than ever — but that doesn't mean human beings will be cut out of the programming process.

"95% is going to be AI-generated," Scott said when asked about code within the next five years on an episode of the 20VC podcast. "Very little is going to be — line by line — is going to be human-written code."

"Now, that doesn't mean that the AI is doing the software engineering job, and so I think the more important and interesting part of authorship is still going to be entirely human," he added.

Scott said he's been programming for 41 years — long enough to watch the industry undergo a similar shift while he was a child in the 80s.

"In the transition from Assembly language programming to high-level language programming, like there were some old farts who would say like, 'You're not a real programmer if you don't know how to write in Assembly language, and that's the only real coding, and the way to do things the right way," he said. "Nobody talks about that anymore."

What's occurring with artificial intelligence, in Scott's opinion, isn't too different. Scott said "the very best programmers" will adjust to the incorporation of AI into their routines.

"We've gone very quickly from developers being skeptical about these tools to like, 'You will get this from my, you know, cold dying fingers. I think of this as like one of the most essential tools in my toolkit and I will never give it up,'" he said.

Though Scott believes AI is capable of lowering the barrier of entry to coding, he said it'll still be necessary to employ programmers with solid understandings of niche problems.

"Think about this as sort of raising everyone's level. So, it makes everybody a programmer and you no longer have to go get someone to make a website for you," Scott said. "But if you are trying to solve the word the world's hardest computational problems, I think you're going to need computer scientists, and they're going to use these tools insanely well."

What AI is likely to do, he added, is cut out the middle-man when it comes to simpler, more personal needs. Instead of waiting for a developer to anticipate your need for a particular tool, he said, you'd ideally be able to use AI programs to build it yourself.

"You have teams of people whose job is to go anticipate a bunch of very granular user needs in some narrow space — and then they're going to go write a bunch of code, and then figure out how to hang that code onto some user experience, and they hope that they've done a good enough job," he said.

"That's going to change. Like you just aren't going to need as much of that anymore," he added.

Though the responsibilities assigned to engineers may eventually look different, Scott doesn't believe the role itself will go extinct. And much like Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, who expects AI-assisted coding to help a team of 10 engineers do the work of 100, Scott thinks that AI should ideally enable smaller groups to take on large-scale projects.

"I'm hoping that it will get easier for small teams to go do big things," Scott said. "The reason that's important is, I think small teams are just faster than big teams are. You can do a lot with like 10 really great, super motivated engineers with really powerful tools."

• President Donald Trump's new tariffs vary greatly between countries.
• The Office of the US Trade Representative explained the pretty simple formula used.
• The math puts a heavy emphasis on trade deficits.

It turns out a pretty simple formula was used to calculate President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.

The levies on imported goods into the US vary widely between countries, ranging from 10% to 50%.

The formula used — which prompted derision from some once it was revealed by the Office of the US Trade Representative — involves dividing a country or territory's trade surplus with the US by the value of its exports to the US. Then, the resulting figure was divided by two, to make the tariff rate.

The approach has led to some eyebrow-raising rates. The French territory Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which has a population of around 5,000 people, was slapped with a 50% tariff.

Data from the US Census Bureau shows that $3.4 million of goods were imported from the islands to the US in 2024, while Saint Pierre and Miquelon imported $100,000 from the US last year so that trade imbalance was used to calculate the tariff rate.

In a statement Wednesday night, the US Trade Representative said the tariffs were "calculated as the tariff rate necessary to balance bilateral trade deficits between the US and each of our trading partners."

A number of countries, like the UK, Singapore, and Brazil, were hit with a base tariff rate of 10%. Israel, which scrapped all tariffs on American goods, was hit with a 17% levy.

Vietnam, a key competitor to China, would be subject to a 46% tariff.

"If trade deficits are persistent because of tariff and non-tariff policies and fundamentals, then the tariff rate consistent with offsetting these policies and fundamentals is reciprocal and fair," the US Trade Representative said.

Here's what economists had to say

Economists were quick to weigh in on the revelation of exactly how the Trump administration calculated the tariffs.

"The tariff calculation approach arguably makes for a more free-wheeling and open-ended nature to potential trade negotiations in coming months," George Saravelos, the head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.

"It seems there are no specific and identifiable policy asks per se but ultimately a desire to reduce bilateral trade imbalances," he added.

Others shared more pointed criticism of the approach.

Nouriel Roubini, a professor emeritus at the NYU Stern School of Business, wrote in a post on X that the formula used is "totally flawed" because it assumes that a fair trade balance has to be equal to zero.

"By that standard since the US runs a trade surplus in services other countries should impose a large services reciprocal tariffs against the US to balance that trade too!" Roubini said.

Peter Schiff, the chief economist and global strategist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, said in a post on X that the tariffs are based on "a bogus formula that attributes any nation's trade surplus to tariffs, even if tariffs are low or nonexistent."

"Running bilateral trade surplus/deficits with different countries is the way it should be," Olivier Blanchard, Robert M. Solow professor of economics emeritus at MIT, wrote in an X post. "Trying to eliminate each one is simply stupid."

"I have a trade deficit with my grocer, a trade surplus with my employer. I am not sure it would be a great idea for me to work for my grocer," he said.