Reaching trade agreements with the U.S.’s longtime allies is proving to be more of a slog than hammering out a tariff truce with its biggest geopolitical rival.

Aside from last week’s deal to temporarily roll back new duties on China, and a quick deal with the U.K., talks with Japan, South Korea, the European Union and other key trading partners have yet to yield a breakthrough, the WSJ’s Jason Douglas and Timothy W. Martin write. A major sticking point is the auto industry, as the Trump administration has been reluctant to drop a 25% duty on imported vehicles, which is especially painful for these allies as it is still in force while other new tariffs were suspended. Japan was the first to start negotiations and it didn’t retaliate against the tariffs, unlike China. Among the offers Tokyo could make, trade experts say, would be to lend its shipbuilding expertise to help revitalize America’s sluggish maritime industry, a priority for President Trump.

While America’s allies wait to see what sort of a deal they can make on tariffs, U.S. consumers are growing warier about the trade war’s effect on prices for everyday goods, with a key confidence gauge hitting its second-lowest level on record. These fears weren’t allayed by Walmart saying it would hike prices in coming weeks, an announcement that could be the final crack in the dam to unleash a flood of higher prices from other retailers.

• Trump attacked Walmart on social media after it signalled tariff-related price increases are coming for American shoppers. (WSJ)
• The European Union’s exports to the U.S. hit a record high in March as businesses stockpiled goods ahead of new tariffs.(WSJ)
• Taiwanese chip-materials maker GlobalWafers plans to invest an additional $4 billion in the U.S. (WSJ)
• China resumed allowing exports of rare-earth magnets after the process ground to a halt for a few weeks. (WSJ)
• Nvidia plans to open a research and development center in Shanghai, its latest effort to remain competitive in one of its biggest markets. (WSJ)
• Air-freight capacity between China and the U.S. dropped by almost a third after the Trump administration ended the de minimis tariff exemption for lower-priced Chinese goods. (Reuters)

General Motors went all in on electric vehicles, investing heavily to build out a sustainable supply chain for batteries, but now the auto giant is pressing to get the nation’s toughest EV mandate rolled back.

Sales of all-electric vehicles are slowing, and Congress might roll back tax credits, further hitting affordability and sales. The Journal’s Sharon Terlep, Becky Peterson and Lindsay Wise report that GM is encouraging its employees to lobby lawmakers to nullify a 2022 California ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035, a mandate adopted in 11 other states. The Senate could vote this week on revoking California’s ability to set its own, stricter tailpipe-pollution standards. Although it continues to invest heavily in EVs, GM abandoned a target to build 400,000 of them by the middle of 2024, delayed the start of production at an Indiana battery plant and backed out of a nearly completed battery facility in Michigan.

Serial supply-chain dealmaker Brad Jacobs jokes that the “X”s and “O”s he puts in the names of companies including GXO Logistics and freight company XPO stand for hugs and kisses.

The WSJ’s Lauren Thomas writes that the 68-year-old, who starts each day with meditation and yoga, has become an unlikely M&A guru, striking over 500 deals in logistics and other industries. He hunts targets, turns up pressure to seal deals and cuts costs like other takeover mavens, but he seeks to bring a feel-good vibe to a ruthless, no-nonsense world. One uncommon habit is engaging employees in group bonding sessions for hours. The approach is practical, he believes: Job satisfaction helps get people on board for changes he might need to make after a takeover. And it allows him to evaluate every role to see if it is necessary. Sometimes, they aren’t. 

U.S. oil production is expected to decline in 2026, marking the first year-on-year decrease in about a decade, outside of the pandemic. (WSJ)

U.S. home building rebounded slightly in April, regaining some of the ground lost in March. (WSJ)

Lockheed Martin is accelerating talks for new partnerships in Europe as the region works to cut its reliance on U.S. arms makers. (WSJ)

A Mexican navy tall ship plowed into New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, snapping its masts and killing two crew members. (WSJ)

Israel bombed Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen and threatened to kill the militant group’s leader. (WSJ)

Bayer is pushing to resolve lawsuits related to the weedkiller Roundup, while exploring a bankruptcy filing for its Monsanto unit if the settlement plan fails. (WSJ)

Boeing won’t be prosecuted over violating an earlier criminal settlement under a tentative deal with the Justice Department. (WSJ)

CMA CGM said it would be able to arrange its services to avoid new U.S. fees on Chinese ships, since less than half its fleet was built in China. (Journal of Commerce)

A salvage tug reached a disabled A.P. Moeller-Maersk containership adrift near Bermuda and began towing the vessel to the Bahamas. (Maritime Executive)

Hong Kong International Airport, the world’s No. 1 cargo airport, said volumes rose 2.6% year-over-year in April, despite U.S. tariffs. (Air Cargo News)

Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation is extending an incentive program to boost containerized cargo movement through the state’s ports. (gCaptain)

Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Railroad Administration, David Fink, told senators he would uphold a rule requiring two-person train crews. (Progressive Railroading)

Autonomous-vehicle company Aurora Innovation reversed course and is putting a human observer behind the wheel of trucks operating in Texas. (Transport Topics)

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.