President Donald Trump suggested he would be open to tariff “flexibility,” but doesn’t seem too keen on granting more exceptions to specific industries. Trump’s comments helped Wall Street rebound to finish with narrow gains after indexes initially sold off Friday morning.
President Donald Trump resisted the idea of granting more tariff relief but appeared open to reciprocal tariff “flexibility.”
At the Oval Office on Friday, Trump was asked about granting industries exemptions to his tariffs.
“People are coming to me and talking about tariffs, and a lot of people are asking me if they could have exceptions,” he replied. “And once you do that for one, you have to do that for all.”
During the first couple months in office, Trump has most notably implemented a 20% tariff on Chinese goods as well as on-again, off-again 25% duties on goods from Canada and Mexico but granted the auto industry a one-month exemption on vehicles that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
Additionally, Trump has levied a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum while threatening duties on microchips, and pharma imports into the U.S. He also threatened to impose a 25% duty on all goods imported from the European Union.
“I gave the American car companies a break because it would have been unfair if I didn’t,” Trump said, adding that he didn’t change his mind on tariffs.
The tariff on the auto industry will go back into effect early next month.
“I don’t change. But the word flexibility is an important word,” Trump said. “Sometimes it’s flexibility. So there’ll be flexibility, but basically it’s reciprocal.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for elaboration on Trump’s use of the word “flexibility.”
Trump affirmed the self-proclaimed “liberation day” on April 2, when he will impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that have assigned tariffs on U.S. goods as well as value-added taxes and other non-tariff trade barriers.
While market volatility over tariff concerns has ravaged Wall Street in recent weeks, stocks rallied after Trump’s comments, bouncing back from a morning selloff. After falling as much as 1.6% Friday, the S&P 500 finished 0.08% higher on the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.08% and 0.52%, respectively.
Additionally, Trump announced Friday he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but has not indicated when.
China has levied retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture imports in response to the 20% all-encompassing tariff Trump placed on the country.
“I’ll be speaking to President Xi, have a great relationship with him. We’re going to have a very good relationship, but we have a trillion-dollar deficit,” Trump said.
Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump’s Solana and Cardano, that it alleged were unregistered securities. The SEC also targeted celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan for promoting tokens, among other individuals. The crypto industry fought back and argued that decades-old securities law did not apply to new technology. Executives like Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, argued that the government should draft legislation to account for blockchains, rather than crack down on the crypto sector.
Atkins was previously SEC chair from 2002 to 2008 under President George W. Bush. Most recently, he served as CEO of his financial services consultancy Patomak Global Partners. He’s been supportive of the crypto industry’s calls for regulation. “The collapse of FTX was this international debacle because I think the U.S. didn’t make our rules accommodating to this new technology,” he said in a 2023 interview.
As part of his ethics agreement, Atkins also agreed to step down from a position on Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Token Alliance, a policy group that advocates for crypto companies.
A brand that was notoriously connected to music piracy before reemerging as a subscription music service has been sold to Infinite Reality for $207 million.
The tech startup announced Tuesday it had bought Napster in hopes of transforming the streaming service into a social music platform where artists can connect with fans and better monetize off their work.
“The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era. Yet, music streaming has remained largely the same. It’s time to reimagine what’s possible,” said Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos in a blog post.
Among its plans to update Napster, Infinite Reality said it will create virtual 3D spaces that will allow fans to attend concerts, and give musicians or labels the ability to sell digital and physical merchandise. Artists will also receive a wider range of metrics and analytics to better understand the behavior of platform users.
“We can think of no better use case for our technology than putting it in the hands of music artists who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Infinite Reality Chief Business Officer Amish Shah.
Napster was launched in 1999 by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker and quickly became the first significant peer-to-peer file-sharing application. It shuttered in early 2000s after the record industry and popular rock band Metallica sued over copyright violations. Rhapsody later bought the brand in 2011 and relaunched it as a music streaming service.
“Billionaire’s Beach” in Florida is home to 58 billionaires, including Donald Trump, Ken Griffin, Julia Koch, and Stephen Schwarzman. The wealth of these Palm Beach homeowners totals about $494.7 billion—attracting the world’s 1% with pristine beaches, unparalleled privacy, tax breaks, mega-mansions, and exclusivity.
Florida has become the mecca of America’s wealthiest—with many of the world’s richest individuals flocking to one oceanside town, dubbed “Billionaire’s Beach,” where you can rub shoulders with the likes of Ken Griffin and Donald Trump.
Palm Beach is home to a staggering 58 billionaires, drawn to crystal blue waters, Mediterranean-style megamansions with unparalleled privacy, and Rodeo Drive–worthy shopping.
Single-family houses in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Purchase contracts for single-family houses priced at $10 million or more surged 306% in March from a year earlier, the biggest gain since the pandemic started, appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate said in a report. Photographer: Marco Bello/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Many of the richest own property on South Ocean Boulevard—a famous street part of “Billionaire’s Row,” lined with towering palm trees and pristine beaches. Properties for sale cost an arm and a leg, with some charging $57.5 million or $38.7 million for an in on the exclusive neighborhood.
One 8-bedroom, 15-bathroom listing is even up for $88 million.
Palm Beach, Florida, USA – March 15, 2014: Wonderful mansion in spanish style. No people.
But Kenneth Griffin, the CEO of Citadel, wants to shatter all those numbers.
The American hedge fund manager worth $41.8 billion has his sights set on constructing a $1 billion property in Palm Beach. In 2023, he bought about 20 acres of prime real estate in the area, and plans are still underway to spend anywhere from $150 million to $400 million on constructing his dream house—and it’s expected to be one of the priciest homes on the planet when complete.
It’s just a quarter mile south of President Trump’s sprawling 126-room, 62,500-square-foot Mar-a-Lago estate.
Aerial shot of Palm Beach, Florida looking down on Everglades Island.
Authorization was obtained from the FAA for this operation in restricted airspace.
Like birds of a feather, billionaires tend to flock together. It’s estimated that the combined net worth of Palm Beach’s richest residents totaled an eye-watering $494.7 billion in 2024, according to analysis of Forbes data by the Palm Beach Daily News.
Aside from the temperate climate, private beaches, stunning views, and luxury real estate, the Florida town attracts the world’s wealthiest for its tax breaks. Most notably, Florida is one of the nine U.S. states with no income tax—meaning residents and companies don’t have to cough up taxes on their wages, salaries, or business profits.
Plus, flocking to Florida is not just an investment for billionaires’ pockets—a part of the appeal of buying a megamansion on Palm Beach is sharing a zip code with some of the world’s one percent.
Your ultrawealthy neighbors could include Koch Industries’ Julia Koch and her family, worth $75.7 billion; Stephen Schwarzman, the Blackstone CEO boasting a $47.9 billion net worth; or Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson, who has amassed a $38.9 billion empire, to name a few.
After Estée Lauder bought out his brand for $2.8 billion, fashion A-lister Tom Ford forked over $51 million for a home in the area in 2022. One year later, 84 others bought properties worth over $10 million in Palm Beach during 2023.
And if Palm Beach’s billionaires aren’t enough company, then just drive 10 miles south to Manalapan, where Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison just set a Florida record for the purchase of a $173 million estate spanning 16 acres.