President Trump said he might raise duties on imported autos to coax more investment in U.S. manufacturing, after he raised the specter of unilaterally setting tariff levels for many countries.

At the White House signing Thursday of a resolution blocking California’s ban on new gasoline-fueled cars by 2035, Trump said his 25% tariff on foreign cars spurred recent investments by General Motors and others. He said he might bump up that duty in the near future to make it more likely companies will build U.S. plants. The night before, he told reporters at the Kennedy Center that the U.S. was negotiating with about 15 countries, including Japan and South Korea, but that it wasn’t possible to do that with more than 150 nations. So, in the next week and a half to two weeks, the U.S. will send letters to countries “telling them what the deal is like I did with the EU.” This would come ahead of the July 9 end of a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs above 10%.

Trump on Thursday also touted last month’s deal between Tokyo’s Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, which he has characterized as a partnership. He said the U.S. would hold a “golden share," controlled by the president, giving Americans 51% ownership of the company, but didn't provide further details. 

• Wholesale inflation undershot expectations last month, with producer prices rising 0.1% from April, and increasing 2.6% over the past 12 months. (WSJ)
• WSJ VIDEO: Why Tariffs Haven’t Sparked Inflation–Yet

When negotiators met in London to discuss a truce, the talks focused more on dialing back supply-chain curbs than they did on tariffs, market access and other standard trade-negotiation topics. That shift highlights how the rivalry between the U.S. and China is increasingly about who controls the levers of global economic power. In many essential sectors of the modern economy, China has the upper hand accounting for about a third of global manufacturing output. The U.S. dominates fewer sectors—but its clout in advanced technology gives it an outsize advantage. The potential for export controls to disrupt trade adds to the pressure on companies already struggling to navigate tariffs and mushrooming trade conflicts. 

Retailers, consumer-goods makers and other U.S. companies are taking a hit as many Latinos forgo shopping and dining out to avoid encounters with immigration officers. The WSJ’s Laura Cooper, Arian Campo-Flores and Enrique Pérez de la Rosa write that Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Modelo brewer Constellation Brands and other firms have told investors that a decrease in Hispanic spending is hurting their sales. Coca-Cola, for one, has long looked for sales growth from Hispanic consumers–a group it says holds $2.1 trillion in spending power. Tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have had a chilling effect on some retailers as Latino customers–including those with legal status–steer clear, store owners and executives say. The share of Hispanic shoppers who made purchases in bricks-and-mortar stores dropped to 53% in the first quarter from 62% in the fourth quarter of 2024, a report by market research firm Kantar says.

The U.S. Merchant Marine turned 250 years old. The anniversary is pegged to the American Revolution's first sea battle on June 12, 1775, when Jeremiah O’Brien led civilian merchant mariners in the capture of the British schooner HMS Margaretta. The action took place before the Continental Navy was established later that year. (gCaptain)

• A multiyear archaeological study suggests the wreck of the HMS Margaretta may have been found in Jonesport, Maine's Sawyer Cove. (Bangor Daily News)
• Congressional committee staffer and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy alumnus Sang H. Yi was named as the acting head of the U.S. Maritime Administration. (WorkBoat)

U.S. jobless-claims filings totaled 248,000 in the week through June 7, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. (WSJ)

The U.K. economy contracted more than expected in April, with GDP down 0.3% from February, as Trump’s evolving trade policy brought a halt to a surprising surge in activity. (WSJ)

The deadly Air India crash upends the safety record of one of Boeing’s bestselling jets, dealing a fresh blow to the U.S. plane maker plagued by safety and production issues. (WSJ)

Airbus expects passenger traffic to grow 3.6% annually over the long term, led by growth in domestic India flights and across Asia. (WSJ)

Micron Technology plans to invest more than $200 billion in semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., a move it estimates will create roughly 90,000 direct and indirect jobs. (WSJ)

A newly completed, 7.2-megawatt solar installation will generate half of the annual energy needs of New Jersey’s Port Newark Container Terminal. (American Journal of Transportation)

A court approved Japanese auto-parts supplier Marelli, which filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, to borrow $518.9 million to help fund its reorganization. (Bloomberg)

The Department of the Interior is publishing a request for information and interest in a first step toward possible seabed-mineral lease sales off the shore of American Samoa. (Reuters)

Starting next month, Mitsubishi will be the first Japanese company to import LNG at scale from Canada. (Nikkei Asia)

The blaze on a Wan Hai Lines containership was largely under control, three days after it caught fire following an explosion off the coast of India’s Kerala state. (Lloyd’s List)

Yemen's Houthi militants warned the U.S. and Israel that an attack on Iran could spur a fresh escalation of conflict, as maritime security groups warned ships to take caution in the area. (Maritime Executive)

Mediterranean Shipping would have a 15% share of the global container-port sector if it completes its acquisition of CK Hutchison’s non-Chinese port assets. (The Loadstar)

Union workers will vote on Canada Post’s latest contract offers following an order by the nation’s jobs minister, a move aimed at breaking a lengthy stalemate. (Supply Chain Dive)

Texas-based Outpost, which operates shared truck terminals and fleet yards, acquired four additional terminals as part of a $500 million network expansion. (DC Velocity)

• Auto-parts supplier Marelli became one of the first big companies to file for bankruptcy under the weight of the Trump's tariffs.
• Retailers are raising the bar for free delivery—or eliminating the perk—as they seek to mitigate tariff costs.
• Recent changes to CPA licensing laws in many U.S. states mean one thing for some prospective accountants: School’s out early.
• Nvidia has unveiled a new generative foundation model that it says enables simulations of Earth’s climate with unprecedented resolution. The question is what else humans will do with it.

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.