The Trump administration is preparing to reshape its steel and aluminum tariff regime, altering duties on finished products to help simplify compliance. The net effect of the changes could effectively raise costs for many imports, the WSJ’s Gavin Bade and Bob Tita report.

Under an expected presidential proclamation, finished products made with imported steel and aluminum would be tariffed at 25%, according to people with knowledge of the plans. This tariff would apply to the entire value of a finished product containing steel and aluminum, replacing the current 50% duty, which only applies to the value of the metals used in a product. The 50% tariff will remain in place for commodity-grade steel and aluminum products, the people said.

The expected changes are meant to make compliance easier for companies that have struggled to measure the value of the metals in manufactured products. But even though the tariff rate will be lower for many goods, the change likely means the cost of the tariffs assessed on many products will be higher.

• President Trump's trade war triggered the first year-over-year decline in U.S. coal exports since 2020, largely due to a 92% drop off in shipments to China. (WSJ)

Global trade growth is expected to drop to between 1.5% and 2.5% this year, from 4.7% in 2025, according to the U.N. Trade and Development. The tepid estimate comes as Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz keeps about half a billion barrels of petroleum products from global markets, fueling inflation, and disrupting supply chains.

Iran’s blockade is also choking off the supply of oil the ships use for fuel, the Journal’s Costas Paris writes. Singapore, the world’s biggest ship-refueling hub, is running low on bunker fuel as imports from Kuwait have dried up, according to Vortexa.

In the first week of the war in Iran, 140,000 barrels a day of ship fuel arrived in Singapore, with 98% coming from Kuwait. In mid-March, deliveries from the Gulf state stopped, and Singapore since has taken in 33,000 barrels a day mainly from India, a 76% drop. 

Even if the strait reopens to commercial traffic, unclogging it will take weeks if not months, analysts say.

• President Trump sought to reassure skeptical Americans that the war in Iran is in the national interest, arguing that the operation was necessary to decimate a regime threatening the U.S. and insisting that economic pain would be short-lived. (WSJ)

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity edged up to 52.7 in March from 52.4 in February. Some details of the report were a little less kind, the WSJ’s Justin Lahart writes.

The ISM’s index of supplier deliveries rose significantly. That index is inverted: When deliveries are slower, it goes higher. Slow deliveries are usually a sign that demand is picking up, but in the current situation war-related disruptions might be a bigger factor.

More troubling, the report showed a sharp increase in price pressures, with the ISM’s price index jumping 7.8 points to 78.3--the highest level since June 2022.

• A private gauge of China’s manufacturing activity, the RatingDog PMI, eased to 50.8 in March from a five-year high of 52.1 in February. (WSJ)
• Japan’s large manufacturers’ sentiment improved for a fourth quarter, reaching its highest level since December 2021. (WSJ)

• U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in February from January, driven by strong spending on vehicles, clothing, and at personal care stores, according to the Commerce Department. (WSJ)
• The U.S. economy added 62,000 private-sector jobs in March, a slight decrease from February, according to ADP. (WSJ)
• General Motors’ sales plunged 9.7% in the first quarter, the biggest drop in almost four years, as high interest rates and vehicle prices held buyers back. (WSJ)
• Bayer’s pharmaceutical division is considering expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint as part of a turnaround strategy. (WSJ)
• Cal-Maine Foods’ profit and sales fell sharply due to lower egg prices, but its shift to premium eggs cushioned the hit. (WSJ)
• Intel agreed to buy Apollo Global Management’s 49% stake in their Fab 34 chip manufacturing plant in Ireland for $14.2 billion. (WSJ)
• Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis froze in traffic in Wuhan, forcing passengers to abandon vehicles and raising safety questions. (WSJ)
• Jeep maker Stellantis is discussing building EVs in Canada with Chinese partner Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology. (Bloomberg)
• Amazon reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board over charges filed by the Teamsters and some employees alleging it retaliated against striking workers. (CNBC)
• CMA CGM added Montreal to its main North American East Coast service, with a transshipment option for Canadian exporters. (Journal of Commerce)
• Fifty-five percent of U.S. retailers plan to raise prices this year as margins fall and costs increase, according to KPMG research. (Sourcing Journal)
• Louisiana’s Swiftships, which builds military and commercial vessels, filed for bankruptcy last month amid financial challenges following the loss of a Navy contract. (WorkBoat)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.