Highlights for the morning: Trump's new duties, risks for Tesla and a boom in ETF investments in Taiwan

Countries that have not concluded trade agreements with the U.S. will return to the increased level of duties announced in April from August 1, President Trump confirmed. He also announced an additional 10 percent duty on goods from countries that "cooperate with the BRICS anti-American policy." In parallel, tensions are rising between Trump and Musk, who has announced the creation of his own political party. This is causing concern for Tesla investors, given the company's falling sales. About these and other topics - in our review of key events for the morning of July 7.

US President Donald Trump criticized Ilon Musk's idea to start a new political party, calling it "ridiculous" and noting that the US "has always had a two-party system," Bloomberg reports. "Third parties have never worked, so let him have his fun," Trump told reporters on Sunday.

Amid conflict with Trump over his tax bill, Musk on Saturday announced the formation of a party called America Party, but no details have been disclosed and no official documents have yet been filed. Musk's escalating political activism has Tesla investors worried, especially amid the company's stock down more than 20% since the beginning of the year. On Monday, the automaker's quotes fell another nearly 5% on the Blue Ocean alternative trading platform.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, one of the consistent bulls on Tesla, recognized that Musk's actions carry political risk for the company: "Going deep into politics and war with the establishment is not at all what investors expect from him." Ives noted that Tesla's board of directors could intervene if Musk continues his political campaign.

Tesla's financial problems are getting worse. Deliveries in the second quarter fell 13% - more than ever before, competition from BYD and Xiaomi has intensified in China, and the European market remains weak.

Trump threatened to impose an additional 10 percent duty on imports from countries that "have sided with the anti-American BRICS policy," reports CNBC. The specific countries or aspects of the BRICS policy in question were not specified.  "Any country siding with the anti-American BRICS policy will be subject to an ADDITIONAL duty of 10%. No exceptions," Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Sunday, against the backdrop of the alliance's summit in Rio de Janeiro.

BRICS leaders in a July 6 joint statement condemned U.S. trade policies, warning against "unwarranted unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate raising of mirror duties." Although the U.S. was not explicitly mentioned, the summit expressed "serious concern about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures, trade distortion and WTO non-compliance," adding that such actions could undermine the global economy and exacerbate inequality. Although the U.S. was not explicitly mentioned, summit participants expressed "serious concern about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures, trade distortion and WTO non-compliance," adding that such actions could undermine the global economy and exacerbate inequality. 

The statement also included support for Iran, another BRICS member: the countries condemned a series of military strikes against it without naming the US or Israel.

Traders are actively buying equity-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) domiciled in Taiwan, fueled by demand from retail investors and a strengthening local currency, reports Bloomberg. Such funds have raised more than $19 billion in 2025, more than similar products in South Korea and China combined, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That's almost as much as Taiwanese ETFs received in all of 2024.

Such inflows emphasize the growing strength of Taiwan's retail investors, the agency said. Despite a $3 billion outflow of foreign funds from the Taiwanese market, the Taiex index fell only 2%. At the same time, the rising Taiwan dollar strengthens local currency investments, and the "sell America" trend encourages investors to switch to domestic assets.

According to Cathay Securities Investment Trust investment director Eddie Cheng, such ETFs traditionally receive inflows during market corrections, as local investors prefer to "buy on drawdowns." The growing interest is also attributed to capital outflows from dollar-denominated assets into Taiwanese equities.

The country's largest fund raised $6.2 billion in 2025, helped by lower fees, a stock split and a high stake of nearly 60% in the world's largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

According to Zhu Liang Liu, chairman of Yuanta Securities Investment Trust, Taiwanese people's confidence in the Taiex index and the semiconductor industry remains high. About 2 million investors participate in regular investment programs, generating monthly inflows of about NT$15 billion ($519 million) into Taiex-focused ETFs.

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor plans to raise about $4 billion by issuing unsecured bonds in dollars and euros, according to the prospectus for the offering, which is reported by Reuters. The company is considering issuing five-, seven- and 10-year dollar bonds, with each series expected to yield at least $750 million. The coupon on the five-year papers is expected to be about 7 percent per annum, on the seven-year papers about 7.8 percent and on the 10-year papers about 8 percent.

Nissan is also planning to place Eurobonds with maturities of four and eight years of at least 500 million euros each. The coupon rate for the four-year bonds is set at 5.8% and for the eight-year bonds at 6.8%. In addition, the company announced plans to issue six-year convertible bonds worth 150 billion yen (about $1.04 billion).

Asia-Pacific markets traded on Monday with multidirectional dynamics.

- Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.53% and the Topix was down 0.57%. 

- South Korea's Kospi rose 0.19%, while the Kosdaq climbed 0.16%. 

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.11%. 

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.61 percent and China's CSI 300 was down 0.12 percent.

- U.S. stock futures fell after Trump confirmed that the increased duties will take effect on August 1. Dow Jones futures slipped 0.32%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.39% and Nasdaq 100 contracts were down 0.42%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor