Good morning.

After taking a short recess, tariffs once again made their way into the headlines as the president not only threatened additional costs be placed on goods coming from countries in the European Union but targeted one specific U.S. company as well.

Stocks (futures) immediately headed down after the announcement(s) and investors who thought we would have little economic news today … leading into the holiday weekend … were sorely mistaken.

It seems the administration is upset with the speed (and result) tariff talks are going with the EU, so this weapon of choice was once again brought out in the hope of getting a quick resolution (favorable to the U.S., of course).

And our friends (or maybe ex-friends) in Europe weren’t the only ones targeted as the president also informed Apple of the intent to charge them an addition fee for phones sold in the U.S. that are not manufactured here.

This move, of course, has other tech heavyweights (among others) concerned as they question to what extent individual companies can be hit with extra fees to try to change behavior.  Why is this a concern?  There is no reason to think this will not expand to other areas.  For example … depending too much on DEI in setting up your board? Tariff. Too high of a percentage of foreign aluminum or steel?  Tariff. Not using enough fossil-fuel-powered cars to transport goods? Tariff.

Tariffs have become an easy weapon as it only takes a statement from the White House to get things riled up.  But it is a mistake to think these are only words … and therefore have no cost … as each tariff comment seems to have great power in moving markets … to the benefit of some and to the detriment of others.

My note is short as I am sure many will take advantage of the long weekend and have probably already unplugged for today.

I also wrote some paragraphs on the situation at Harvard (where not being able to have foreign students … 25% of the population … would be crippling) … but realized some of my comments might not sit well with some … so I deleted them.

I also am heading out this weekend toward Lancaster (Amish country) … but careful of what I eat when I stop by their famous Shady Maple Buffet.

Last time there … always trying to get my money’s worth … I ate one food I was not accustomed to and ended up with a terrible case of heartburn.

It was the wurst.

Have a great day,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com

A Look At The News | May 23, 2025 As of 10:56 AM today: So far, tariff chats with the European Union have not moved in a sizable way so Donald Trump figures the threat of a 50% boost will get things moving (NBCNews) https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-eu-50-percent-tariff-talks-going-nowhere-rcna208712 … while the weapon of tariffs is also being aimed at a company.  Apple … iPhone … make them in the U.S. or you will pay (CNN) https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/23/economy/trump-threatens-tariff-apple While many older Americans continue to work just to stay busy, an increasing number are staying employed out of necessity (USAToday) https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/05/22/retirement-age-rising-social-security-medicare/83767525007/ AI is all around us and, quite frankly, it is hard to keep up with what is good and what is … well … left a bit wanting in terms of what it can do.  Here is another new entry (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/22/claude-4-opus-sonnet-anthropic.html Seeing it costs more than a penny to money to make a penny, the administration sees just stopping the manufacture will save money. Is the nickel next? (NYPost) https://nypost.com/2025/05/22/us-news/us-mint-moves-to-kill-penny-with-production-ending-after-final-order/ Worried about running out of charcoal? Just plug in your electric grill and you are good to go … but I would do a bit more research as non-flame steaks just seem a bit sacrilegious (NPR) https://www.npr.org/2025/05/23/nx-s1-5364492/grilling-electric-climate-change-propane The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us. Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC | 717-556-8900 | 3175 Oregon Pike, Leola, PA 17540 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list. ———————————————————————————- The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us.