(The opinions expressed here are those of the author.)

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in

U.S. and global markets by EMEA Markets Breaking News Editor

Amanda Cooper.

Stock futures are pointing to a slightly softer open after

the July 4 Independence Day holiday weekend. Confusion reigns

supreme after U.S. officials flagged a delay on tariffs but have

not provided any specific details on the changes, while oil

prices came under pressure after OPEC+ opened the supply spigots

more than expected.

Mike Dolan is enjoying some well-deserved time off over the

next week, but the Reuters markets team is here to provide you

with all the information you need to start your day.

Today's Market Minute

* The United States is close to finalizing several trade

pacts in the coming days and will notify other countries of

higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on

Sunday,

with the higher rates set to take effect on August 1.

* President

Trump

said the U.S. will impose an additional 10% tariff on any

countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies"

of the BRICS group of developing nations,

whose leaders kicked off a summit in Brazil on Sunday.

* Global investors are heading into U.S. President Trump's

Wednesday deadline for trade tariffs unexcited and

prepared for a range of benign scenarios that they believe

are already priced in.

* The U.S. tax and spending bill

passed on July 3

is expected to add

more than $3 trillion

to the country's deficit over the next decade. If the

current debt trajectory continues unabated,

writes Panmure Liberum investment strategist Joachim

Klement,

it could set off a slow motion debt spiral that could

endanger the Federal Reserve's independence.

* Two questions stand out after the decision by OPEC+ to

accelerate increases in crude oil output: who is going to buy

the extra crude, and will the group actually export the

additional barrels they say they are going to produce?

Read the latest from ROI columnist Clyde Russell.

Trump, tariffs and Tesla

Few things will send a shiver up the spine like an

unexpected brown envelope landing in the mail. Trump says the

U.S. will start delivering the first letters outlining what

tariffs will apply from August 1 to a handful of countries later

today. Who the recipients are, what the contents are, and what

the reaction might be are a mystery at this point.

In April, Trump unveiled a tariff base rate of 10% on most

countries, and additional duties ranging up to 50%, although he

later delayed the effective date for all those except the 10%

rate until July 9.

Trump himself hasn't offered much in the way of clarity.

Early on Friday, he said the tariffs could be even higher -

ranging up to 70% - with most set to go into effect on August 1.

"I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday,

probably twelve," Trump said, when asked about his plans.

"Different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs."

So far, markets aren't reacting at all. Since he took

office, Trump has built a solid reputation for threatening one

thing, only to back down, delay or reverse course completely.

Having said that his administration would strike "90 deals in 90

days", so far there is one limited deal with Britain and an

agreement in principle with Vietnam. The pause in the trade war

with China expires around August 12.

While the two sides have taken steps on loosening certain

restrictions on issues like shipments of semiconductor chips and

critical minerals, there have been no signs yet of any major

breakthrough.

But Trump can still surprise. In a social media post on Sunday,

he pulled a completely new policy out of the bag - that of

applying an extra 10% levy on countries that "align themselves

with the "Anti-American policies" of BRICS."

The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil,

Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc

later added South Africa and, more recently, Egypt, Ethiopia,

Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as members.

It was not immediately clear what Trump meant by

"anti-American" or whether this new threat would derail trade

talks with India, Indonesia and other BRICS nations. Group

heavyweight China said on Monday the threat of another 10%

tariff served no one.

It seems clear that the oil price is almost certainly going

to head lower over the course of the summer driving season. The

OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum

Exporting Countries and non-members such as Russia and Oman,

agreed to raise crude output next month by a lot more than

expected.

The group is planning to raise production by 548,000 barrels

per day in August, up from the monthly increases of 411,000 bpd

that were approved for May, June and July.

Lower energy costs will please Trump, who is seeking to

loosen regulations around oil and gas extraction at home, urging

companies to "drill, baby, drill." What might please him less is

that the OPEC+ output increase is about taking market share,

specifically from the producers in the prolific U.S. shale

basin.

Finally, it seems Tesla investors are unhappy about chief

executive Elon Musk's decision to dive back into politics.

Having left the Department of Government Efficiency, which

carried out mass dismissals of government employees, to

concentrate on his businesses in May, Musk has announced the

creation of the "America Party". He has repeatedly criticised

Trump's landmark tax-cut and spending bill on the grounds that

it would add trillions in national debt and bankrupt the

country.

A day after asking his followers on X whether a new U.S.

political party should be created, Musk said on Saturday that

the "America Party is formed."

Trump has called the plans "ridiculous". As the feud with Musk

escalates, Trump has threatened to pull billions of dollars that

Tesla and Musk's SpaceX company receive in government contracts

and subsidies.

Chart of the day

Tesla shares are heading for a decline today as trading gets

underway after the three-day weekend. Musk's decision to get

back into politics has unnerved his investors, who already had

to contend with a second straight quarterly decline in

deliveries in the second quarter of this year.

Today's events to watch

* Trump's letters to major trading partners are due to be

delivered at midday ET (4:00 PM GMT)

* Participation by ECB President Christine Lagarde and ECB

board member Piero Cipollone in a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels

* 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is

committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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