CNBC’s latest Daily Open centers on U.S. trade policy, with Washington seeking to use economic leverage against both allies and rivals. The roundup spans several themes at once: closer Canada-EU ties, potential new tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, Donald Trump’s remarks on the Iran war, and fresh signals from Japanese monetary policy and the artificial intelligence sector.
In the European Parliament on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received a standing ovation as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed an “Alliance for the Future,” under which Canada could become the bloc’s first associate member. Trump dismissed the idea as “laughable” and called Canada a “terrible” trade partner, warning that Europe could face steep tariffs if the move were made in bad faith. At the same time, he said that if the intention was good, it would be fine.
Carney welcomed the EU proposal, saying Canada is not seeking power to dominate others and is instead pursuing resilience so that no one can control its open markets.
Trump gets a stronger tariff tool
The U.S. House passed a Russia sanctions bill giving Trump statutory authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil. The move came just days after BRICS leaders, including China and India, publicly rejected unilateral secondary sanctions.
New Delhi and Beijing are among the top five buyers of Russian crude, placing them directly in Washington’s sights. Trade policy expert Deborah Elms said the law allows Trump to “strike hard and quickly at any time for any reason.” Analysts said China and India are unlikely to scale back purchases of Russian oil, but the tariff threat still gives Washington added leverage in dealings with New Delhi and Beijing.
Hope for an end to the Iran war, but tensions remain
Trump said the U.S. is “hopefully” nearing the end of its nearly seven-month-long war with Iran. CNBC noted, however, that regional tensions remain elevated as fighting continues to escalate on a separate front between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Trump said: “Well, hopefully we are toward the end of the war. They want to make a deal, we'll see how that works out.” He also said he had spoken with Tehran “directly,” without providing further details.
Market moves were limited. U.S. stock futures were little changed Thursday night, a day after the major averages rose following the Fed’s first rate hike in three years. Asian markets opened higher, while oil prices fell for a third straight day.
Investors are also looking ahead to comments on Friday from Federal Reserve officials. Michelle Bowman, a voting member of the rate-setting committee, and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, a non-voting member, are due to speak as markets look for more clarity after Wednesday’s unanimous rate increase.
At the same time, the Bank of Japan is set to conclude its two-day policy meeting on Friday, with markets widely expecting a quarter-point increase to 1.25%. That would mark a 31-year high, though still within the BOJ’s estimated neutral range of 1.1% to 2.5%.
Different AI messages from major players
In artificial intelligence, CNBC highlighted diverging messages from Nvidia, Palantir and Anthropic. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company expects to sell twice as many chips in 2027 as it will this year, while also calling for formal AI safety testing.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp backed “reasonable guidelines” for AI, but said the technology’s “unlimited risks” could ultimately make nationalization necessary. Speaking to CNBC, he argued that such companies could otherwise face lawsuits from all of their clients.
Anthropic, meanwhile, published three metrics it says the public should be able to see: AI-led research and development, oversight of AI agents, and compute allocation within Anthropic. A report from Rhodium Group added that Chinese AI models are gaining users quickly, but that popularity has not yet translated into comparable revenue.
And finally, concern in Japan over the yen
CNBC also pointed to rising concern among Japanese corporate leaders over the weak yen. Even executives who have benefited from the currency’s weakness are now calling for a stronger yen, saying sharp exchange-rate swings make strategic planning harder.
Yoshinori Kanehana, chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, told CNBC on the sidelines of the Gastech conference that “we cannot make strategy” when the yen moves too much, calling it the company’s “biggest problem.” He said yen at 150 could make him consider moving some manufacturing from the U.S. back to Japan. According to a company report, Kawasaki has 27 production sites outside Japan, including in the U.S., and 17 at home.
