“Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than it does North American–built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for the U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers.”

The seeming 15% floor on import taxes is up from the 10% that both the president and his commerce secretary had previously been citing.

In the first nine months of the 2025 fiscal year, interest costs totaled $921 billion, up 6% from the year before. However, firing Powell and pursuing more aggressive cuts to the federal funds rate would save just $12 billion to $15 billion through 2027, according to a recent Deutsche Bank analysis.

Consumer spending came in much higher than expectations, but because the figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, the increase could indicate either more sales volume or higher prices.