Trump to defend trade war in major address to Congress tonight, top adviser says

Trump to defend trade war in major address to Congress tonight

Jason Miller, a top adviser to Donald Trump, says the president will defend his trade war to Americans when he speaks to a joint session of Congress tonight.

“I would say that he’s going to lean into it and he’s going to talk about how increasing tariffs can actually go and close the trade deficits … [in] January we saw a record trade deficit, particularly when it comes to countries such as Canada, Mexico, China. And how, if we don’t go and do this now, we’re going to be completely wiped out by certain industries here in the United States,” Miller told CNN in an interview.

“Ultimately the costs on this are going to be carried by the producers and the foreign countries as opposed to Americans,” he added, repeating a common argument of the administration that economists are skeptical of.

Speaking to the former Trump advisor Larry Kudlow on Fox Business this hour, the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said that talks with Canada and Mexico are ongoing, and an announcement on a middle ground solution on tariffs could be announced on Wednesday.

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“Both the Mexicans and the Canadians were on the phone with me all day today, trying to show that they’ll do better”, Lutnick said, “and the president is listening because you know he’s very, very fair and very reasonable. So I think he’s gonna work something out with them. It’s not gonna be a pause, none of that pause stuff. But I think he’s gonna figure out, ‘You do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle some way’. And we’re going to probably be announcing that tomorrow. So, somewhere in the middle will likely be the outcome. The president moving with the Canadians and Mexicans, but not all the way.”

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The Fox Business host Kudlow was the director of the National Economic Council during the first Trump administration.

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Democrats have seized on reports that congressman Richard Hudson, who leads the House GOP’s campaign operation, has asked lawmakers to stop holding in-person town halls after several incidences where constituents aired grievances over Donald Trump’s haphazard cuts to the federal government.

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Politico reports that Hudson made the request in a private meeting today, though lawmakers don’t have to follow it. In response, top Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to hide while supporting unpopular policies. Here’s minority leader Hakeem Jeffries:

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House Republicans have just been ordered to stop holding town hall meetings. They can run from their extreme agenda. We will never let them hide.

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And Katarina Flicker, press secretary for the House Majority Pac, which supports Democratic candidates:

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If you’re going to have the audacity to raise prices and rip away health care from millions of Americans, you should at least have the courage to face your constituents. House Republicans are cowards.

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The nation’s largest union of auto workers said it supported Donald Trump’s tariffs on major US trading partners and was working with its administration “to end the free trade disaster”.

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The statement from the United Auto Workers comes after it endorsed Joe Biden’s re-election bid and its president, Shawn Fain, campaigned for Democrats last year. The political winds have since shifted, and the UAW says it is in favor of Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada as a way to undo the damage of free trade agreements that it claims undermined American manufacturing. From its statement:

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Tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals. We are glad to see an American president take aggressive action on ending the free trade disaster that has dropped like a bomb on the working class.

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There’s been a lot of talk of these tariffs “disrupting” the economy. But if corporate America chooses to price-gouge the American consumer or attack the American worker because they don’t want to pay their fair share, corporate America bears the blame for that decision. The working class suffered all the pain of NAFTA, and we won’t suffer all the pain of undoing NAFTA. We want to see corporate America, from the auto industry and beyond, recommit to the working class that makes the products and generates the profits that keep this country running.

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The UAW is in active negotiations with the Trump Administration about their plans to end the free trade disaster. We look forward to working with the White House to shape the auto tariffs in April to benefit the working class. We want to see serious action that will incentivize companies to change their behavior, reinvest in America, and stop cheating the American worker, the American consumer, and the American taxpayer.

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Earlier in the day, the Detroit automakers’ trade association pleaded for exemptions from the tariffs and warned they would undermine US car manufacturers.

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Democratic lawmakers are split over whether to attend Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress this evening, and the degree to which they should express their dislike of what he will say.

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Many lawmakers plan to be there, but bring along guests with personal stories that can speak to the risks and failures of Trump’s ideology. Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said she invited Elena Hung, an advocate for Medicaid, the insurance program for poor and disabled Americans that Trump wants to cut:

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Elena Hung’s courageous daughter, Xiomara, was born with a number of serious medical conditions and is thriving today as a result of access to quality health care – including Medicaid …

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At a time when Medicaid is under assault by those who seek to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, I am honored that Xiomara’s story will be told through Elena’s attendance as my guest to this year’s address to a joint session of Congress.

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Some Democrats want to stage protests during the speech, not unlike the heckling Joe Biden got last year when he gave what turned out to be his final State of the Union address. Axios has more about their plans, which are not popular with minority leader Hakeem Jeffries:

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Some members have told colleagues they may walk out of the chamber when Trump says specific lines they find objectionable, lawmakers told Axios. Criticism of transgender kids was brought up as a line in the sand that could trigger members to storm out, according to a House Democrat.

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A wide array of props – including noisemakers – has also been floated: Signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages – just as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) held up a sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last year that said “war criminal.” Eggs or empty egg cartons to highlight how inflation is driving up the price of eggs.

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Finally, some lawmakers are boycotting the address. Among them is progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on Bluesky she’d be “live posting and chatting with you all here instead. Then going on [Instagram] Live after.”

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Donald Trump has upended the United States’ relationship with three of its top trading partners by following through on his campaign promise to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. Prime minister Justin Trudeau said the tariffs were “a very dumb thing to do” and announced Canada would impose retaliatory levies, while in Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would announce her nation’s response on Sunday. Trump defended the decision as necessary to restore domestic manufacturing, though his commerce secretary acknowledged they could drive prices higher in the short term. The president is expected to elaborate on the decision this evening, when he addresses the first joint session of Congress of his new term.

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Here’s what else has happened today so far:

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The CEOs of two large US retailers, Target and Best Buy, said they expected prices to go up as a result of Trump’s trade war.

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Ontario’s premier Doug Ford told the Wall Street Journal that he was imposing a 25% export tax on electricity sent to three US states, and might cut it off altogether if the tariffs linger.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to sign the minerals deal Trump was demanding, and acknowledged his White House meeting last week “did not go the way it was supposed to”.

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The Trump administration has backed down from its demand for federal agencies to fire employees on probation, even after many have already been let go.

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The decision comes as a federal judge temporarily halted the administration’s move, which was part of a larger effort to thin out the federal workforce and targeted at workers who were newly hired or promoted.

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In a revised memo, the office of personnel management instead instructed agency human resource chiefs to send them lists of workers on probation and determine whether those employees should be retained, without specifying that they be terminated. It’s unclear what this will mean for workers who have already been fired.

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The development was first reported by the Washington Post.

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Jason Miller, a top adviser to Donald Trump, says the president will defend his trade war to Americans when he speaks to a joint session of Congress tonight.

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In a speech to Canadians, prime minister Justin Trudeau directly addressed Donald Trump, saying that his decision to impose tariffs on one of the United State’s top trading partners is “a very dumb thing to do”.

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“Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see,” said Trudeau.

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The prime minister added that he would challenge the US tariffs at the World Trade Organization and through the free trade agreement covering the two countries. Canada has already retaliated with tariffs on $30bn Canadian dollars of US goods, and threatened to impose levies of $125bn Canadian dollars in 21 days’ time.

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“Our tariffs will remain in place until the US tariffs are withdrawn, and not a moment sooner. And should these tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures, measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war,” Trudeau said.

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Ontario premier Doug Ford told the Wall Street Journal that in retaliation for Donald Trump’s tariffs, he has ordered a 25% export tax on electricity his province’s producers send to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

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“President Trump underestimates the Canadian people,” Ford told the Journal, adding that he will shut down power exports entirely if Trump makes good on his promise to impose further tariffs next month. He further noted that the US defense industry gets 50% of its nickel, a critical mineral, from Ontario, and threatened to stop that trade as well.

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“He’s going to wake up real quickly about our critical minerals,” Ford said.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to sign an agreement demanded by Donald Trump for access to Ukraine’s minerals, and acknowledged last week’s testy White House meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to”.

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The comments come after Trump yesterday decided to pause military assistance to Ukraine, potentially jeopardizing its ability to defend against Russia’s invasion. We have a separate live blog covering all the latest news in the conflict, and you can read it here:

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Major US stock indices have dropped significantly in early morning trading amid fears that Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will cause price spikes and economic upheaval.

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The broad-based S&P 500 erased gains it had made since the 5 November election, with a drop of 1.6%. The benchmark Down Jones industrial average was down 1.5% or more than 650 points.

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The figures are certainly not what Trump, who often uses the stock market as a barometer for his administration’s economic success, would like to see.

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Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said she will outline her country’s response to Donald Trump’s tariffs on Sunday, Reuters reports.

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While China and Canada quickly announced plans for retaliatory levies on US goods, Mexico has so far held off, but Sheinbaum said she would detail tariff and non-tariff measures against the Trump administration’s move in her weekend speech.

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“There is no reason, rationale or justification to support this decision that will affect our people and nations … Nobody wins with this decision,” Sheinbaum told reporters in Mexico City.

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Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that Donald Trump’s tariffs on major US trading partners may cause short-term price hikes, but argued the long-term effects would be positive.

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“There may well be short-term price movements, but in the long-term, it’s going to be completely different,” Lutnick said. He also signaled that more tariffs were in the pipeline, saying the Trump administration was ready to move forward on 2 April with its plan for “reciprocal” levies on imports from countries that put tariffs on US goods.

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The CEOs of two large retailers in the United States say shoppers are likely to see prices rise as a result of the tariffs Donald Trump placed on Canada and Mexico, and his hike in levies on China.

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The warnings from the CEOs of Best Buy and Target, reported by CNBC, contradict the president’s assertion that the costs of his trade war will not be borne by US consumers, who rebelled against his predecessor Joe Biden after the US economy was hit by its worst bout of inflation in decades.

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“Those are categories where we’ll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told the network in an interview. “If there’s a 25% tariff, those prices will go up.”

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On an earnings call, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said China and Mexico were his firm’s two biggest suppliers, and price hikes were inevitable.

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“Trade is critically important to our business and industry, the consumer electronic supply chain is highly global, technical and complex,” Barry told shareholders, according to CNBC. “We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely.”

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Donald Trump has threatened to cut off funding to universities that allow “illegal protests”, and expel or deport students involved.

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Writing on Truth Social, the president said:

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All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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The threat comes after Republicans last year condemned pro-Palestinian protesters who held demonstrations on several college campuses nationwide over Joe Biden’s support for Israel, and Trump later signed an order that could lead to the deportation of foreign students involved. Here’s more on that:

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Russia has agreed to assist US president Donald Trump’s administration in communicating with Iran on various issues, including on Tehran’s nuclear programme and its support for regional anti-US proxies, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

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The report, which was picked up by Russian state media, quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that “Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations” and that Moscow “is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this.”

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Trump last month restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran denies any such intention.

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Russia has deepened its ties with the Islamic Republic since the start of the Ukraine war, and signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Iran in January.

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Donald Trump on Tuesday will deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress since reclaiming the presidency and promising a new “golden age” for America.

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Before a chamber packed with members of Congress and their guests, the president will lay out his second-term vision after a radical start that has dramatically reshaped both domestic and foreign policy.

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In just a few weeks since being sworn into office, Trump has empowered Elon Musk to dramatically downsize the federal workforce, threatened allies with tariffs and coddled longtime American foes. His administration has initiated sweeping mass layoffs of federal employees, mobilized officers from nearly every federal law enforcement agency and the US military to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations, and rattled Europe with his pursuit of a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on terms preferential to Moscow.

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New polling shows warning signs for Trump. More Americans held a negative view of Trump’s presidency so far than a positive one, a new CNN survey found. Meanwhile, a poll conducted by NPR/PBS News/Marist showed a majority of people in the US believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and say that the president has been “rushing to make changes without considering the impact”.

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Yet Trump, emboldened by his return to power, has shown no signs of changing course, even as backlash brews.

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China and Canada unveiled retaliatory measures against the US after Donald Trump imposed his sweeping tariffs plan at midnight US time, despite warnings it could spark an escalating trade war.

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US tariffs have come into force of 25% against goods from Canada and Mexico, the US’s two biggest trading partners, and 20% tariffs against China – doubling the levy on China from last month.

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The duties will affect more than $918bn-worth (£722bn) of US imports from Canada and Mexico.

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China on Tuesday said it would impose fresh tariffs on a range of agricultural imports from the US next week. Its finance ministry said additional 15% tariffs would be imposed on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, with further 10% tariffs on sorghum, soya beans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

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The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said Ottawa would respond with immediate 25% tariffs on C$30bn-worth ($20.7bn) of US imports. He said previously that Canada would target US beer, wine, bourbon, home appliances and Florida orange juice.

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Tariffs will be placed on another C$125bn ($86.2bn) of US goods if Trump’s tariffs were still in place in 21 days.

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Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news over the next few hours.

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We start with news that president Donald Trump will stand before a joint session of Congress today to give an accounting of his turbulent first weeks in office as a divided nation struggles to keep pace.

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It will be the latest milestone in Trump’s total takeover of the nation’s capital where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake America’s place in the world, AP reported.

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The White House said Trump’s theme would be the “renewal of the American dream,” and he was expected to lay out his achievements since returning to the White House, as well as appeal to Congress to provide more money to finance his aggressive immigration crackdown.

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“It’s an opportunity for president Trump, as only he can, to lay out the last month of record-setting, record-breaking, unprecedented achievements and accomplishments,” said senior adviser Stephen Miller.

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Democrats, many of whom stayed away from Trump’s inauguration in January, were largely brushing aside calls for boycotts as they struggle to come up with an effective counter to the president.

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Instead, they chose to highlight the impact of Trump’s actions by inviting fired federal workers as guests, including a disabled veteran from Arizona, a health worker from Maryland and a forestry employee who worked on wildfire prevention in California.

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They also invited guests who would be harmed by steep federal budget cuts to Medicaid and other programs.

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In other news:

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The Trump administration has suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, blocking billions in crucial shipments as the White House piles pressure on Ukraine to sue for peace with Vladimir Putin. The decision affects deliveries of ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment including shipments agreed to when Joe Biden was president. It comes after a dramatic blow-up in the White House on Friday during which Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was “gambling with” a third world war. The Ukrainian president was told to come back “when he is ready for peace”.

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US vice-president JD Vance said that the best way to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion is to guarantee the US has a financial interest in Ukraine’s future. “If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Vance said in the interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity which aired Monday night.

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China and Canada unveiled retaliatory measures against the US after Trump imposed his sweeping tariffs plan at midnight US time, despite warnings it could spark an escalating trade war. US tariffs have come into force of 25% against goods from Canada and Mexico, the US’s two biggest trading partners, and 20% tariffs against China – doubling the levy on China from last month. The duties will affect more than $918bn-worth (£722bn) of US imports from Canada and Mexico.

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The US health department told employees on Monday they could apply for early retirement over the next 10 days and should respond to a request for information on their accomplishments of the past week, according to emails seen by Reuters. Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who oversees the so-called “department of government efficiency”, are spearheading an unprecedented effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy, including through job cuts.

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The US Senate has confirmed Linda McMahon as the nation’s next education secretary, entrusting the former wrestling executive with a department marked for dismantling by Donald Trump. The 76-year-old billionaire businesswoman and longtime Trump ally was approved 51-45, reflecting deep divisions over her qualifications and the administration’s education agenda. McMahon, who previously led the small business administration during Trump’s first term, now faces the paradoxical task of running an agency while simultaneously working toward its potential elimination.

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Two alleged leaders of a criminal organization suspected of smuggling 20,000 people without permanent legal residency into the US from Guatemala have been arrested in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, known as “Turko”, and his lieutenant, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, were taken into custody Friday and have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to smuggling migrants across the border over five years, the US attorney’s office said. A federal judge ordered the men, who themselves are in the country illegally, jailed without bond until their trial in April.

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Hours after the United Auto Workers released a statement calling Trump’s tariffs, “a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals”, comes news that the union’s president, Shawn Fain, is joining Senator Bernie Sanders on his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour.

Fein will appear with Sanders in Warren, Michigan on Saturday.

According to Sanders, the tour “is focused on the takeover of the national government by billionaires and large corporations, and the country’s move toward authoritarianism.”

The tour’s stops, Sanders says, are an intentional effort to target districts narrowly won by Republicans in 2024 “to pressure them to vote against any cuts to Medicaid, housing, nutrition, education and other basic needs to pay for more tax breaks for the richest people in this country”.

Fain memorably spoke at the Democratic National Convention last year, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Trump is a scab!”.

UAW president Sean Fein’s speech at the 2024 DNC.

Trump expects to meet Canada and Mexico halfway on tariffs, says commerce secretary

The Fox Business host Kudlow was the director of the National Economic Council during the first Trump administration.

In addition to the mass firings of federal workers, the Trump administration’s plan to slash the federal government apparently includes a real estate fire sale.

On its website, the General Services Administration, which manages federal properties, said it has identified 443 properties, totaling more than 80 million square feet that “are not core to government operations” now “designated for disposal.”

The list of buildings to be put up for sale includes some of the most iconic properties in Washington, including the headquarters of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Labor Department.

Reuters reports that the agency said sales could potentially save more than $430 million in annual operating costs. The move could, however, put federal agencies at risk of exploitation by private landlords.

The list also includes the Washington headquarters for the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, the American Red Cross building and the Office of Personnel Management. GSA’s own headquarters were also on the list.
It also includes major office buildings in Atlanta, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Chicago, including the landmark Chicago Loop Post Office designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

The largest union of federal workers says that fired probationary employees must be reinstated, after the office of personnel management (OPM) amended a memo that had ordered their termination.

“OPM’s revision of its Jan. 20 memo is a clear admission that it unlawfully directed federal agencies to carry out mass terminations of probationary employees – which aligns with Judge Alsup’s recent decision in our lawsuit challenging these illegal firings,” the American Federation of Government Employees president, Everett Kelley, said in a statement.

“Every agency should immediately rescind these unlawful terminations and reinstate everyone who was illegally fired.”

Here’s more about the Trump administration’s about-face:

Democrats pounce amid reports that top House Republican campaigner asked members not to hold town halls

House Republicans have just been ordered to stop holding town hall meetings. They can run from their extreme agenda. We will never let them hide.

And Katarina Flicker, press secretary for the House Majority Pac, which supports Democratic candidates:

If you’re going to have the audacity to raise prices and rip away health care from millions of Americans, you should at least have the courage to face your constituents. House Republicans are cowards.

United Auto Workers backs tariffs, saying working with Trump to ‘end the free trade disaster’

The nation’s largest union of auto workers said it supported Donald Trump’s tariffs on major US trading partners and was working with its administration “to end the free trade disaster”.

Tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals. We are glad to see an American president take aggressive action on ending the free trade disaster that has dropped like a bomb on the working class.

There’s been a lot of talk of these tariffs “disrupting” the economy. But if corporate America chooses to price-gouge the American consumer or attack the American worker because they don’t want to pay their fair share, corporate America bears the blame for that decision. The working class suffered all the pain of NAFTA, and we won’t suffer all the pain of undoing NAFTA. We want to see corporate America, from the auto industry and beyond, recommit to the working class that makes the products and generates the profits that keep this country running.

The UAW is in active negotiations with the Trump Administration about their plans to end the free trade disaster. We look forward to working with the White House to shape the auto tariffs in April to benefit the working class. We want to see serious action that will incentivize companies to change their behavior, reinvest in America, and stop cheating the American worker, the American consumer, and the American taxpayer.

Earlier in the day, the Detroit automakers’ trade association pleaded for exemptions from the tariffs and warned they would undermine US car manufacturers.

Add Republican former senator Pat Toomey to those who don’t think much of Donald Trump’s levying of tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

On X, Toomey, who represented Pennsylvania until 2023, said:

With his multiple rounds of tariffs, and the inevitable retaliations, President Trump has wiped out all of the S & P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gains since his election. Next come higher prices and job losses.

Show up, disrupt or stay home: Democrats fret over how to respond to Trump’s speech to Congress

Elena Hung’s courageous daughter, Xiomara, was born with a number of serious medical conditions and is thriving today as a result of access to quality health care – including Medicaid …

At a time when Medicaid is under assault by those who seek to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, I am honored that Xiomara’s story will be told through Elena’s attendance as my guest to this year’s address to a joint session of Congress.

Some members have told colleagues they may walk out of the chamber when Trump says specific lines they find objectionable, lawmakers told Axios. Criticism of transgender kids was brought up as a line in the sand that could trigger members to storm out, according to a House Democrat.

A wide array of props – including noisemakers – has also been floated: Signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages – just as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) held up a sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last year that said “war criminal.” Eggs or empty egg cartons to highlight how inflation is driving up the price of eggs.

Jason Rodrigues

The magnitude and scale of President Trump’s decision to go ahead with 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico has had economists recalling the Tariff Act (1930) signed by President Herbert Hoover.

It saw average tariffs jump by 20% for thousands of different imported goods, as the US tried to protect its depressed agricultural sector from foreign competition.

Proposed by senator Reed Smoot and representative Willis C Hawley, the bill, reported in the Manchester Guardian (below) was opposed by more than one
thousand economists, who warned Hoover of a dramatic downturn in US trade with other countries, especially from those that retaliated.

The Guardian, 16 June 1930. Photograph: Gdn/The Guardian

Nonetheless Hoover signed it into law, with some Congress members, realising the vote was quite close, engaging in logrolling to get something for their constituency in return for their support.

The impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was, as predicted, highly damaging to the United States, with estimates of imported goods, many of which were needed by US industry and commerce, plummeting by nearly half.

The tariffs also caused shock waves to global trade as other nations deployed protectionist policies, resulting in an estimated half of the 25% decline in world trade.

Elon Musk will brief House republicans tonight about criticism of Doge cuts, Bloomberg News and the Hill report.

Tonight at 7pm, Musk, who leads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency – which has been slashing the federal workforce and the budgets of federal agencies – will meet in the House basement with Republican lawmakers about complaints from their constituents about the mass firings.

Mass firings have taken place at the Department of Veteran Affairs, Defense Department, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS, National Parks, and more.

Michael Sainato

In a message to employees on Monday, the newly confirmed secretary of education, Linda McMahon, a billionaire ex-wrestling executive, laid out the “final mission” for the department as Donald Trump threatens to dismantle the agency.

“My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children,” wrote McMahon, a co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the professional wrestling organisation. “This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students.”

The message comes as Trump is reportedly finalizing plans to issue an executive order to eliminate the 45-year-old US Department of Education and eliminate or reorganize the department’s functions and programs.

Workers at the Department of Education called the email a “power grab” focused on privatization at the expense of children with disabilities and from low-income families.

“It’s heartbreaking to read such a disingenuous, manipulative letter from the head of the agency,” said one employee who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “I don’t read the letter to be an end to the department. It reads as a transformation into something sinister, a tool for the president to use to ensure his ideology is implemented by states and local governments at the risk of losing funding. It’s the exact overreach it’s purporting to stop.”

You can read more on this story here:

Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to respond to Canada’s announcement of retaliatory measures against the US after Donald Trump imposed his sweeping tariffs plan: “Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!”

Trump flippantly referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor” in his post underscores the president’s previous comments that he wants to annex Canada and make it the 51st US state.

When asked what he would tell his constituents who have federal government jobs and are worried about the so-called department of government efficiency’s cuts to the federal workforce, Republican senator Tommy Tuberville told ABC News: “We’re going to have to suck it up.” He echoed Trump’s calls to “stop the bleeding” and spend less, even though this means it will hurt Americans. Federal employees make up 7.6% of the workforce Huntsville, Alabama. Many of these employees work at Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

In response to the tariffs that went in effect today, which experts say will raise the price of goods, Tuberville said “there’s going to be pain” but that it was the best way forward for the country.

US Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama. — Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

The day so far

Here’s what else has happened today so far:

The CEOs of two large US retailers, Target and Best Buy, said they expected prices to go up as a result of Trump’s trade war.
Ontario’s premier Doug Ford told the Wall Street Journal that he was imposing a 25% export tax on electricity sent to three US states, and might cut it off altogether if the tariffs linger.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to sign the minerals deal Trump was demanding, and acknowledged his White House meeting last week “did not go the way it was supposed to”.

Trump administration walks back order to fire probationary employees

The Trump administration has backed down from its demand for federal agencies to fire employees on probation, even after many have already been let go.

The development was first reported by the Washington Post.

Trump to defend trade war in major address to Congress tonight

Jason Miller, a top adviser to Donald Trump, says the president will defend his trade war to Americans when he speaks to a joint session of Congress tonight.

Back in the US, more business leaders are warning consumers to expect higher prices as a result of Donald Trump’s trade war. Here’s more on that, from the Guardian’s Callum Jones and Leyland Cecco:

Americans have been warned to brace for higher prices within days after Donald Trump pulled the trigger on Monday and imposed US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, and hiked tariffs on China.

Global stock markets came under pressure again on Tuesday, with leading indices falling sharply – and the benchmark S&P 500 losing all its post-election gains – as Canada, Mexico and China vowed to retaliate, and investors balked at the prospect of an acrimonious trade war.

US retail giants predicted that prices were “highly likely” to start rising on shelves almost immediately after a 25% duty came into effect on exports from Mexico to the US.

Most Canadian exports to the US also now face a 25% duty, with a 10% rate for energy products. The Trump administration imposed a 10% levy on all Chinese exports to the US last month, which has now been doubled to 20%.

Trump, who won back the White House after pledging repeatedly to bring prices down, has acknowledged that his controversial trade strategy could lead them to rise. Consumers could face “some short-term disturbance”, the president conceded last month.

With US retailers relying heavily on imports from Mexico and Canada to stock their shelves, top executives claimed they would have no choice but to increase prices.

Justin Trudeau went on to accuse Donald Trump of seeking to destroy the Canadian economy to make the country easier to annex – something he insisted was “never going to happen”.

“What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that will make it easier to annex us, is the second half of his thought. Now, first of all, that’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state, but yeah, he can do damage to the Canadian economy, and he started this morning,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister warned that Americans will suffer in the trade war as well:

As American families are going to find out, that’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border. Americans will lose jobs, Americans will be paying more for groceries, for gas, for cars, for homes, because we have always done best when we work together. So we are, of course, open to starting negotiations on the customer review, but let us not fool ourselves about what he seems to be wanting.

Justin Trudeau also said that he did not believe Donald Trump’s insistence that tariffs were imposed in retaliation for Canada’s failure to combat fentanyl trafficking.

“We have laid out extensive plans, actions, cooperations, including as recently as the past days in Washington, and they have always been very well received, and the numbers bear that out,” the prime minister said.

“I think in what President Trump said yesterday, that there is nothing Canada or Mexico can do to avoid these tariffs, underlines very clearly what I think a lot of us have suspected for a long time, that these tariffs are not specifically about fentanyl, even though that is the legal justification he must use to actually move forward with these tariffs.”

Source: www.theguardian.com