Michigan’s auto industry is at the forefront of the economic turmoil brought on by the Trump administration’s tariffs. The Wall Street Journal’s Jeanne Whalen tells us about the impact on manufacturers and workers so far. Flight attendants who work for the airline that’s overseeing most of the federal government’s deportation flights told ProPublica’s McKenzie Funk that they don’t feel like they can treat passengers humanely — or keep them safe. Johnson & Johnson played a much larger role in the opioid crisis in America than many people realize. In his new book, ‘No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson’ — and in our latest episode of Apple News In Conversation — Gardiner Harris reports that the company’s products have led to the deaths and injuries of millions of people. Plus, Trump said the U.S. is in direct talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, major storms in parts of the Midwest and South killed at least 24 people across multiple states, Chief Justice John Roberts paused a court order to bring a mistakenly deported Maryland man back to the U.S., and how a social-media rumor led to serious stock-market whiplash yesterday. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Full Episode
Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 8th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the flight attendants working ISIS deportation flights, the dark secrets of Johnson & Johnson, and a New York community rallies to bring a mother and her three children home from immigration detention.
But first, it was another wild day for stocks as the markets continued to react to President Trump's tariff policy. The Dow Jones fell more than 300 points, marking a third straight day of losses and its biggest one-day swing in points ever. The S&P 500 dipped about a quarter of a percent and briefly entered bear market territory. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, rose 0.1 percent.
Also exacerbating the volatile trading session today, President Trump continued his back and forth with China, threatening to enact additional tariffs of 50 percent if Beijing doesn't remove its 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods. Beijing issued a statement saying China will, quote, fight to the end.
As we continue to examine the fallout of the Trump administration's tariff policy, let's take a closer look at Michigan. Nearly 20% of the state economy is tied to the auto industry, which is now facing 25% tariffs on imported vehicles. And starting next month, Trump has promised 25% tariffs on imported parts as well.
I think what they're trying to figure out right now, one is which auto parts are going to be included on the list of things that get tariffed.
Gene Whalen is an economics reporter at The Wall Street Journal who recently spent time in Detroit.
So I think there's a lot of lobbying happening between the companies and the government about what will be on that list.
One reason tariffs represent such a threat to Michigan is because many auto manufacturers, through free trade deals like NAFTA, moved production to other countries or states over the last few decades, where they could produce at lower costs. That means Michigan's auto industry today increasingly depends on places like Canada, Mexico, and China—
Auto parts typically cross the border multiple times as a car is assembled. Whalen told us it's a little too early to say how these tariffs could change Michigan's auto industry at large, but there are some clear impacts so far.
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