China is buying U.S. soybeans again — but falling short of goal set by Trump trade agreement

China has resumed buying U.S. soybeans, but still lags goals set by a trade agreement with President Donald Trump, an NBC News analysis found. China previously was a top buyer of U.S. soybeans, but last spring stopped purchasing American soybeans because of a trade war launched by Trump. The country resumed purchasing soybeans in October … Read more

Trump trade war shift away from Chinese manufacturing has reached tipping point

A container is offloaded from the Wanhai 175 cargo ship at the Tan Vu Terminal, operated by Vietnam Maritime Corp., at Haiphong Port in Haiphong, Vietnam, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The proportion of volume from suppliers in China, Hong Kong, and Korea has declined from 90% to 50% over … Read more

Costco adds Biden Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo to board on heels of Trump tariff lawsuit

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images Read more CNBC politics coverage “We are very pleased to nominate Secretary Raimondo for election to our Board,” Costco Chairman Tony … Read more

Bessent says Trump admin will be able to replicate tariffs even if it loses Supreme Court decision

NEW YORK — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday predicted that the administration still will be able to implement its tariff agenda regardless of whether it prevails in a pending case before the Supreme Court. Repeating assertions he had made prior to the high court hearing a month ago, Bessent cited several sections of 1962 … Read more

Bad jobs report caused by shutdown, deportations — not tariffs, Lutnick says

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday denied that the Trump administration’s tariff policies were to blame after a new report showed a surprise drop in private payrolls in November. Instead, Lutnick argued on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that the government shutdown temporarily slowed small-business activity. He added that the federal efforts to enact mass … Read more

India is set to host Russia’s Putin, deepening trade ties, unfazed by punitive U.S. tariffs

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin awards India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia July 9, 2024.  Evgenia Novozhenina | Reuters As India reels under punitive U.S. tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil, New Delhi is all set to host President Vladmir … Read more

Tesla CEO Elon Musk bats for H-1B visas, says tariffs distort markets

Elon Musk reacts during a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the U.S. has been a beneficiary of talent from India, while adding that the H1-B visa program had been misused … Read more

Costco sues Trump admin seeking tariff refunds before Supreme Court rules if they’re illegal

A shopper exits a Costco store in Centerville, Ohio, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images Costco sued the Trump administration to get a full refund of new tariffs it paid so far this year, and to block those import duties from continuing to be collected from the retail … Read more

An industry focused on death faces an existential crisis

Strathroy | Istock | Getty Images For nearly a century, John Dioguardi’s family has been making custom headstones and other memorial markers at Rome Monument in western Pennsylvania. Recently, he’s wondered how much time his business has left. Dioguardi has been trying to adapt for more than a decade as the rise in cremations has … Read more

India economy grows at faster-than-expected 8.2% in September quarter even as tariffs bite

Hadynyah | E+ | Getty Images In a quarter partially affected by the 50% U.S. tariffs, the Indian economy grew faster than expected at an annual rate of 8.2% in the quarter ending in September. The growth was an acceleration from 7.8% in the previous quarter, when a lower deflator unexpectedly boosted real growth. A … Read more