Summary of the day
Donald Trump acknowledged that the sweeping tariffs he has imposed on Mexico, Canada and China may cause “some pain” for Americans, but said they were necessary to curb illegal immigration and the drug trade. “The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we’re not going to be the ‘Stupid Country’ any longer,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Top Democrats slammed Donald Trump’s tariff plans, warning that they will hit working families and small businesses hard. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, led the charge by saying the president’s threatened tariffs would likely “hit Americans in their wallets”. “It would be nice if Donald Trump could start focusing on getting the prices down instead of making them go up.”
Canada said it will take legal action under the relevant international bodies to challenge the 25% tariffs, a day after prime minster Justin Trudeau announced a wide array of concrete measures including a tit-for-tat 25% tariff phased in across C$155bn ($107bn) worth of US products.
Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum also ordered retaliatory tariffs in response to the US announcement. Sheinbaum said her government sought dialogue rather than confrontation with the US, but that Mexico had been forced to respond in kind. Mexico has been preparing possible retaliatory tariffs on US imports, ranging from 5% to 20%, on pork, cheese, fresh produce, manufactured steel and aluminum, according to reports.
China said it would challenge Trump’s 10% tariffs at the World Trade Organization and take unspecified countermeasures. China’s commerce ministry said the imposition of tariffs by the US “seriously violates” WTO rules, urging the US to “engage in frank dialogue and strengthen cooperation”.
Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has been given access to the federal payment system, exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses, Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon, said.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio told Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, that Trump has determined that China’s influence threatens the Panama Canal and that immediate changes were needed or the Trump administration would take “measures necessary” to do so. Mulino, in response, said Panama’s sovereignty is “not in question”.
The Trump administration has revoked temporary protected status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Venezuelans in the US, the New York Times reports. The federal TPS program allows for people to temporarily stay in the US if they cannot return safely to their home country. The termination means that those under TPS from Venezuela who received the protections in 2023 will lose their temporary status 60 days after the government publishes the termination notice, according to the Times.
Dozens more staff at the US Agency for International Development (USAid) were put on leave over the weekend, according to a report, bringing the total number of senior staff at the aid agency who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100. Meanwhile, two senior USAid security officials were also put on administrative leave after refusing to hand over classified documents to Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge).
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he wanted to see “strong trading relations” with the US. Britain’s home secretary, Yvette Cooper, warned that Trump’s tariff plans could have a “really damaging impact” on the global economy and growth.
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In an effort to restrict abortion access, Wyoming Republicans authored a bill that could choke access to a host of life-saving medical procedures, from chemotherapy to heart surgery.
State judge Melissa Owens overturned Wyoming’s abortion bans in November 2024, citing the state’s constitutionally guaranteed right to healthcare. The Republican state senator Cheri Steinmetz and the bill’s eight co-sponsors took issue with the ruling and sought to draw up a definition of healthcare that excludes abortion.
“The intent of [Senate File] 125 is to do no harm and go back to that Hippocratic oath and look at healthcare through that lens,” Steinmeitz said.
Steinmetz says Senate File 125 offers a new definition of healthcare in Wyoming: “No act, treatment or procedure that causes harm to the heart, respiratory system, central nervous system, brain, skeletal system, jointed or muscled appendages or organ function shall be construed as healthcare.”
The bill carves out exceptions – for example, when such a procedure is required to save the life of a pregnant woman, or if “a person has no chance of meaningful recovery” without it. Fetal personhood is still on the books in Wyoming from 2023’s overturned “Life Is a Human Right Act”, but experts interviewed said that the murkiness of the bill’s language made it unclear if it would succeed at restricting abortion access – its intended purpose.
Read the full story here:
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Meta’s chief executive, the tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, has grown increasingly close to Donald Trump since he won the 2024 election, including visiting him at Mar-a-Lago and celebrating with him at his inauguration.
Meanwhile, media personalities associated with some high-profile criticism of Trump or his Republican allies have started to leave the scene, including NBC’s former Meet the Press host Chuck Todd and CNN’s Jim Acosta, who was one of the most famous Trump-critical journalists on American television but who left his network after his show was shunted to a midnight slot.
“He’s dictating the news on his terms,” said Michael LaRosa, spokesperson for the former first lady Jill Biden. “He’s become America’s assignment editor.”
Other examples that have roiled American media are racking up. The Washington Post, owned by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, endorsed Trump’s pick for attorney general, election denier Pam Bondi, calling her “qualified” and “serious”. Before the election, it killed an endorsement of Kamala Harris. At the same time, Amazon recently paid the first lady, Melania Trump, a staggering $40m for the rights to a documentary about her life.
Meanwhile, at the Los Angeles Times, the billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong recently killed an editorial criticizing Trump’s cabinet picks and has granted significant editorial influence to Trump cheerleader Scott Jennings.
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In a tumultuous first two weeks back in power in the White House, Donald Trump has targeted many familiar enemies, including one of his most passionate obsessions: the US media, whom he has frequently dubbed “enemies of the people”.
Trump’s new federal communications chair, Brendan Carr, is reported to have ordered an investigation into the sponsorship practices of taxpayer-supported NPR and PBS member stations – a media network long hated by conservatives who accuse it of a liberal slant.
At the same time, and just as concerning for some media watchers, core segments of the US media landscape – via the wealthy billionaires and gigantic corporations that own them – have seemingly caved under Trump’s pressure or apparently sought to curry favor with the new administration.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that CBS News parent Paramount is in talks to settle a $10bn claim that it deceptively edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount is currently concluding an asset sale of its Hollywood studio business.
The news of Paramount’s decision – which has reportedly caused deep upset in the CBS newsroom – comes after ABC News agreed to pay $15m to Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit over inaccurate comments by anchor George Stephanopoulos that Trump had been found civilly liable for rape.
It also follows the move by social media giant Meta to pay $25m to settle a first amendment protections claim for “impermissible censorship” when it bounced Trump from Facebook and Instagram in 2021. About $22m of that fee will be a donation to Trump’s presidential library.
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Mexico to reveal details on retaliatory tariffs on US goods on Monday
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said her government will provide more details on the retaliatory tariffs she ordered on US goods on Monday.
Sheinbaum, in a statement on Sunday, she will announce details on her government’s “Plan B” as she insisted that Mexico “doesn’t want confrontation”.
“Problems are not addressed by imposing tariffs, but with talks and dialogue,” she said.
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking to withdraw all papers involving its researchers that are being considered for publication by external scientific journals to allow for a review by the Trump administration, Reuters reports.
The review is aimed at removing language to comply with Donald Trump’s executive order saying the federal government will only recognize two sexes, male and female.
Inside Medicine published a list of specific words targeted for removal in the communications review, including gender, transgender, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) and non-binary.
Public health experts said the removal of such terms threatens their ability to address all kinds of medical needs as they affect different groups, including those with HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
Carl Schmid, an advocate and executive director of the HIV+ Hepatitis Policy Institute, said:
We can’t just erase or ignore certain populations when it comes to preventing, treating or researching infectious diseases such as HIV. I certainly hope this is not the intent of these orders.
On Friday, the CDC and other US health agencies took down web pages on HIV statistics and a database tracking behaviors that increase health risks for youth, among other information, to comply with Trump administration orders.
Canada reveals list of US goods targeted for retaliatory tariffs
Canada’s department of finance has published a list of Americans products imported into Canada that it will target with a 25% retaliatory tariff starting Ton uesday.
The move comes in response to Donald Trump’s executive order on Saturday imposing a blanket 25% tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the US and 10% levies on Canadian energy.
The list shows products that will be hit in the first round of retaliatory tariffs by Canada starting Tuesday, and mounts to 30bn Canadian dollars’ worth of goods (about $20bn).
The impacted products include tobacco, produce, household appliances, firearms and military gear.
Canada is also preparing for a second, broader round of retaliatory tariffs in 21 days that will target another $86bn worth of US imports.
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Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will discuss “victory over Hamas”, countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Netanyahu said he and Trump would discuss “victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components, Associated Press reports.
The two leaders could “strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength,” he added.
Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, insisted on the sovereignty of the Panama canal after meeting with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
“There is no question that the canal is operated by Panama and will continue to be so,” Mulino said.
“I don’t think there was any discrepancy on that.
“Panama’s sovereignty is not in question,” he added.
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Rubio tells Panama to reduce Chinese influence canal area or face US action
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio told Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, in talks on Sunday that Donald Trump has determined that China’s influence threatens the Panama canal and that immediate changes were needed or the Trump administration would take “measures necessary” to do so.
The state department, in a summary of the meeting, said Rubio had informed Mulino that Trump believed the current situation at the canal was “unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights” under a US treaty with Panama.
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A senior Canadian government official said US tariffs violate the obligations of its free trade agreement with Canada, Reuters reports.
Canada will pursue legal recourse and is preparing countermeasures to blunt the economic impact of the tariffs, the official said.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has held talks in Panama with its president, José Raúl Mulino, as protesters marched in opposition to Donald Trump’s demand for ownership of the Panama canal to be returned to the United States.
Since Trump began talking about “taking back” the Panama canal over a month ago, Panamanian officials have looked to Rubio to understand the nature of the president’s threats and the possible concessions they can make to firm up the relationship with the US.
America’s top diplomat is touring Central America and the Caribbean on his first foray in the post as he seeks to refocus US diplomacy on the western hemisphere – in part to recruit help in stemming migration toward the US southern border.
A day after Trump announced he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico, prompting retaliation from those countries, Rubio was perhaps taking a less confrontational and more diplomatic approach.
He was pictured cordially greeting Panama’s foreign minister, though neither he nor Mulino spoke publicly at their meeting. Rubio is also scheduled to tour an energy facility and the canal during his visit.
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Dozens more staff at the US Agency for International Development (USaid) were put on leave over the weekend, Reuters reports, bringing the total number of senior staff at the aid agency who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100.
Nearly 30 staff in the agency’s legislative and public affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, according to the news agency.
As we reported earlier, two senior security officials were also put on administrative leave after refusing to hand over classified documents to Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge).
USaid’s website has been down since Saturday afternoon as the Trump administration moves to strip the agency of its independence as a government agency and put it under state department control.
Read the full story here:
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Trump revokes temporary protected status for more than 300,000 Venezuelans – report
The Trump administration has revoked temporary protected status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Venezuelans in the US, the New York Times reports.
The federal TPS program allows for people to temporarily stay in the US if they cannot return safely to their home country. It is available for people fleeing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.
Government documents obtained by the outlet read:
After reviewing country conditions and considering whether permitting Venezuelan nationals covered by the 2023 designation is contrary to the national interest of the United States, in consultation with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, the secretary of homeland security has determined that Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the 2023 designation.
The termination means that those under TPS from Venezuela who received the protections in 2023 will lose their temporary status 60 days after the government publishes the termination notice, according to the Times.
It also increases the number of people without any formal immigration status in the US.
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Musk’s Doge team granted ‘full access’ to federal payment system
Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has been given access to the federal payment system, exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses, an influential US senator has confirmed.
Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon and the ranking member of the Senate finance committee, posted on Bluesky that sources had confirmed to him that the Treasury’s highly-sensitive database had been opened up to the tech billionaire and his team.
Donald Trump’s new treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, had granted the billionaire’s Doge team “full access to this system”.
Wyden added that the data bonanza included “social security and medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors … All of it.”
Confirmation of the arrangement suggests that Musk, the world’s richest person, now has entry to one of the most sensitive US government databases. The system controls more than $6tn of federal cash flow each year, with millions of Americans depending on it for social security and medicare benefits, federal salaries and more.
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Senior USAid officials put on leave after refusing Musk's Doge into building – reports
The Trump administration has placed two senior security officials at the US Agency for International Development (USaid) on leave after they refused to allow officials from Elon Musk’s department of government efficiency (Doge) to access systems at the agency, according to multiple reports.
Members of Doge reportedly tried to access the USAid headquarters in Washington DC and were stopped as they tried to access the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports.
The Doge personnel demanded to be let in and threatened to call US marshals to be allowed access, CNN reports.
The personnel lacked high-enough security clearance to access that information, so two USAid officials, John Vorhees and deputy Brian McGill, were legally obligated to deny access, Associated Press reports.
It comes a day after Doge carried out a similar operation at the treasury department, gaining access to sensitive information, including the social security and Medicare customer payment systems.
About 60 senior USAid staff were put on leave last week after they were accused of attempting to circumvent Donald Trump’s executive order on foreign aid.
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Critics warn that a new executive order from Donald Trump’s administration purporting to “combat antisemitism”, and a corresponding fact sheet suggesting deporting international students who protest Israel, could chill political speech on campuses.
The fact sheet released before Trump signed the order on Wednesday quoted the president as saying:
To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.
Although the executive order itself does not call directly for deportations, the idea of cracking down on student protesters involved with pro-Palestine efforts became a Trump 2024 campaign promise and a prominent talking point on the right in the US. Republicans have broadly sought to portray protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza as expressions of support for Hamas, and have called to punish universities that don’t quash them.
The approach dovetails closely with Project Esther, a rightwing blueprint to target the pro-Palestinian movement, along with other calls from the right. Days after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack that sparked Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza, Marco Rubio – then a US senator, now the secretary of state – urged former secretary of state Antony Blinken to revoke the visas of students who protested Israel.
Read the full story here:
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United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain said yesterday that Donald Trump’s “anti-worker policy” was leaving US workers “facing worsening wages and working conditions”.
In a statement on Saturday night, Fain said:
The UAW supports aggressive tariff action to protect American manufacturing jobs as a good first step to undoing decades of anti-worker trade policy. We do not support using factory workers as pawns in a fight over immigration or drug policy.
He said the UAW was willing to support the Trump administration’s use of tariffs “to stop plant closures and curb the power of corporations that pit US workers against workers in other countries”, adding:
If Trump is serious about bringing back good blue collar jobs destroyed by Nafta, the USMCA, and the WTO, he should go a step further and immediately seek to renegotiate our broken trade deals.
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Some US business leaders have reacted neutrally to Donald Trump’s tariffs that the Budget Lab at Yale University estimates would cost the average American household $1,000 to $1,200 in annual purchasing power.
Gregory Daco, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm EY, calculates the tariffs would increase inflation, currently running at 2.9%, by 0.4% and cut US GDP by 1.5% this year.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, the world’s largest bank, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week that tariff threats can be used effectively to “bring people to the table” to negotiate more favorable trade terms.
Tariffs are “an economic tool” or “an economic weapon”, depending on how they’re used, Dimon remarked to CNBC.
I would put in perspective: If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it. I mean, get over it.
William Reinsch, a former US trade official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said many companies had stocked up on imported goods ahead of time to avoid the tariffs and would be able to draw on existing inventories.
That may be an effective strategy for non-perishable goods, like construction materials, but less so for perishable goods that are not afforded the ability to stockpile.
“You don’t stockpile avocados,’’ Reinsch said. “You don’t stockpile cut flowers. You don’t stockpile bananas.’’
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US business leaders are offering a mixed reaction to steep trade tariffs that Donald Trump’s administration has imposed on Canada, Mexico and China.
Larry Summers, treasury secretary under President Clinton, called the impending tariffs “a self-inflicted supply shock.
“It means less supply because we’re taxing foreign suppliers. And that will mean higher prices and lower quantities,” Summers told CNN.
This is a self-inflicted wound to the American economy. I’d expect inflation over the next three or four months to be higher as a consequence, because the price level has to go up when you put a levy on goods that people are buying.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the US, told ABC’s This Week that Trump’s tariff move “is disrupting to an incredibly successful trading relationship.”
“We’re really disappointed and we’re hopeful that they don’t come into effect on Tuesday,” Hillman added. “We’re ready to continue to talk to the Trump administration about that.”
Hillman said Canada was eager to build on its trading relationship with the US but acknowledged “it’s hard to maintain that sense of common purpose and moving forward if we get into this kind of a dynamic on tariffs.”
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was important not to divide the world with new trade barriers, adding that everyone benefits from globalization.
Scholz, speaking after a meeting with British prime minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, said:
We will try to continue economic relations together with the perspective of cooperation and collaboration.
Germany’s opposition leader and frontrunner to become the next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, also expressed concern over Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
“Tariffs have never been a good idea for resolving trade policy conflicts,” Merz said at a Christian Democratic Union convention.
UK seeking 'strong trading relationship' with US, says Starmer
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, was asked about the Trump administration’s new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China as he welcomed Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to Chequers on Sunday.
“It is early days. What I want to see is strong trading relations,” Starmer told reporters. He added:
In the discussions that I have had with President Trump, that is what we have centred on, a strong trading relationship. So it is very early days.
As we reported earlier, the UK home secretary, Yvette Cooper, warned that Trump’s tariff plans could have a “really damaging impact” on the global economy and growth.
Summary of the day so far...
US President Donald Trump said Americans may feel economic “pain” from his tariffs on key trading partners, but argued it would be “worth the price” to secure American interests, despite warnings that the measures will increase prices for consumers.
On Saturday, Trump signed off on threatened 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and hit China with a 10% tariff in addition to already enacted levies. The tariffs will come into effect from midnight on Tuesday. The US President says they are being brought in to address concerns around illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
China subsequently said it will lodge a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US over the proposals, while Canada and Mexico said they’ll bring in retaliatory tariffs.
Investors are bracing for falls when the markets open amid fears Trump’s tariffs will be the start of a trade war which could have negative implications on the global economy and growth.
The EU is bracing for Trump to announce tariffs on their goods. The US president said on Friday he would “absolutely” impose tariffs on the bloc. The European Commission and representatives from the 27 member states are expected to discuss the possibility during a meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday.
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Top Democrats warn Trump tariffs will ‘hit Americans in their wallets’
Ed Pilkington is chief reporter for Guardian US
Top Democrats have slammed Donald Trump’s plans to impose serious tariffs on America’s neighbors and allies, warning that they will hit working families and small businesses hard.
Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the US senate, led the charge by saying the president’s threatened tariffs would likely “hit Americans in their wallets”. “It would be nice if Donald Trump could start focusing on getting the prices down instead of making them go up.”
Schumer added that the White House should set its sights on “competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies”.
Trump has set in train 25% import taxes for Canada and Mexico across all products other than Canadian energy which will face a 10% tariff. China will also have 10% tariffs, with the new impositions scheduled to start on Tuesday.
While the trio of affected countries are preparing retaliatory moves, with China saying it will lodge a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US, Democratic leaders are flagging potentially devastating consequences domestically for American workers.
Ken Martin, who was chosen to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday, said that blanket tariffs would cost working families while Trump would ensure that corporations get a pass.
“He’s using American workers as pawns in his petty political games. If a president promised that they’d help my family get by, and then they did this, I’d be pretty pissed off. So, you should be pissed off,” Martin said in a statement.
You can read the full story here:
Canada to 'stand firm' in trade battle with Trump - ambassador
As we have been reporting, Canadian and Mexican exports to the US will face a 25% tariff starting on Tuesday, and there will be a 10% levy on energy resources from Canada.
Canada, however, hopes the tariffs will not take effect on Tuesday but the Canadian public expects their government to stand firm in a trade dispute with Washington, the Canadian ambassador has said.
“I think the Canadian people are going to expect that our government stands firm and stands up for itself,” Ambassador Kirsten Hillman told ABC News.
“We’re not at all interested in escalating, but I think that there will be a very strong demand on our government to make sure that we stand up for the deal that we have struck with the United States.”
The US Census Bureau listed the 2024 trade deficit in goods with Canada – which sells about 75% of its exports to the US - as $55bn.
Justin Trudeau on Friday said Canadians could be “facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks” after Trump insisted he would impose the hefty new tariffs on goods coming across the border. In response, the Canadian prime minister unveiled matching 25% tariffs on 155bn Canadian dollars worth of US goods. He said 30bn will come into effect on Tuesday and another 125bn in three weeks.
Wall Street Journal editorial calls Trump tariffs ‘dumbest trade war in history’
On Friday, the right-leaning editorial board of the Wall Street Journal newspaper criticised Trump’s proposed tariffs in a piece titled “The Dumbest Trade War in History”.
Here is an extract from it:
President Trump will fire his first tariff salvo on Saturday against those notorious American adversaries . . . Mexico and Canada. They’ll get hit with a 25% border tax, while China, a real adversary, will endure 10%. This reminds us of the old Bernard Lewis joke that it’s risky to be America’s enemy but it can be fatal to be its friend.
Leaving China aside, Mr. Trump’s justification for this economic assault on the neighbors makes no sense. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says they’ve “enabled illegal drugs to pour into America.” But drugs have flowed into the U.S. for decades, and will continue to do so as long as Americans keep using them. Neither country can stop it.
Drugs may be an excuse since Mr. Trump has made clear he likes tariffs for their own sake. “We don’t need the products that they have,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday. “We have all the oil you need. We have all the trees you need, meaning the lumber.”
Trump issued a response to the editorial on Sunday, saying: “The ’Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify... the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS.”
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Canada should become 'cherished 51st state', says Trump
Donald Trump has reiterated his desire for Canada to become America’s 51st state, something Justin Trudeau has strongly dismissed in the past.
Trump posted this to the truth social platform under an hour ago:
We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason. We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!
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Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton has criticised Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on the US’s top trading partners - Mexico, Canada and China – saying it will increase the cost of goods for American consumers. He attached a list of everyday food items – such as eggs, potatoes and cheese – and said prices for such groceries will increase by 25% as a result of the new tariffs.
Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada will make your life more expensive. pic.twitter.com/MSdon1mZMM
— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) February 1, 2025
Trump warns Americans that tariffs may cause 'pain'
Donald Trump has said that Americans may feel economic “pain” from his tariffs on key trading partners.
“Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!)” Trump wrote on Sunday in all capital letters on his Truth social media platform, a day after signing off on tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
“But we will Make America Great Again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid,” he added.
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Action against EU 'just a matter of time'
Donald Trump’s moves against Mexico, Canada and China are being closely watched elsewhere, especially in the EU, which has already been threatened with similar action by the US president.
Last month, on just his second day in office when he announced an investigation into US-China trade, Trump said: “Other countries are big abusers also, you know it’s not just China,” and added that he was also looking at trade with the EU. “We have a $350bn deficit with the European Union. They treat us very, very badly, so they’re going to be in for tariffs,” he said.
On Sunday, asked about Trump’s weekend moves, European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot said he expects new tariffs will lead to higher inflation and interest rates in the U.S. that will likely weaken the euro.
“It’s only a matter of time before the EU is targeted,” said Marchel Alexandrovich, an economist at Saltmarsh Economics in London. “In the meantime, the fact that Canada is responding and putting up tariffs against US goods is a sign of things to come and demonstrates the risks to global trade.”
Market falls expected
Investors are bracing for falls when the markets open.
Trading on the brokerage IG’s weekend markets indicate shares are likely to slump on Monday, after Donald Trump’s order on Saturday to bring in sweeping tariffs this week, a move that could prompt a trade war with some of the country’s largest trading partners.
Technology stocks are expected to be hit, with the US’s Nasdaq index on track to fall 1.2% at the start of trading on Monday, according to IG. The official futures market opens on Sunday evening.
The Dow Jones index of 30 large US companies looked likely to fall by more than 0.7%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 – which ended last week at a record high – was on track for a 0.6% drop.
“The surprise for markets today isn’t so much Trump’s tariff announcements – largely as flagged,” said IG analyst Tony Sycamore. “It’s that Canada and Mexico retaliated immediately and that others, ie China and the EU, may follow their lead, resulting in a sharp contraction in global trade.”
After Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Volkswagen, Germany’s largest carmaker, said that tariffs would have a “harmful economic impact” on American consumers, as well as the international automotive industry.
German automakers say the tariffs will cause inflation for consumers.
“We are assessing any potential effects on the automotive industry and our company as a result of the announced tariffs,” Volkswagen said in a statement.
“We are counting on constructive talks between the trading partners to ensure planning security and economic stability and to avoid a trade conflict.”
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will discuss “victory over Hamas,” countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with Donald Trump this week.
Tuesday’s meeting at the White House will be Trump’s first with a foreign leader since returning to office in late January. It comes as US and Arab mediators begin the work of brokering the next phase of the fragile Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
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Justin Trudeau announces tariffs on US products in retaliation against Trump – video
Leaders of China, Mexico and Canada targeted in Donald Trump’s tariff plans have swiftly reacted to them, with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau warning Americans that they would ultimately be the losers of a trade war.
On Saturday night, the outgoing Canadian leader made a televised address announcing concrete retaliatory measures including a tit-for-tat 25% tariff phased in across C$155bn ($107bn) worth of American products. You can watch Trudeau deliver his remarks in this video:
US tariffs risk having a 'really damaging impact' on world economy, UK home secretary warns
Over in the UK, the home secretary Yvette Cooper said that Trump’s tariff plans could have a “really damaging impact” on the global economy and growth.
The Labour cabinet minister said the UK wanted to break down trade barriers, not put them up.
Asked about Trump’s announcement, Cooper told the BBC: “Tariff increases really right across the world can have a really damaging impact on global growth and trade, so I don’t think it’s what anybody wants to see.”
She added that the UK’s focus was “on building trade links and better trading relationships, and removing barriers to trade, with the US, and also with other European countries and with countries right across the world”.
“We want to reduce the barriers to trade, make it easier for businesses,” Cooper said.
British ministers are hoping Trump will introduce more limited tariffs focusing on particular sectors and countries, which could spare the UK from the worst of any punitive measures. It is expected that Trump will eventually impose tariffs on European countries and target those with trade deficits.
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith told the BBC that the UK can avoid “some of the damage of tariffs” as he said the US is “a very strong ally” and biggest individual trading partner.
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China says it will file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US
China, the world’s second biggest economy behind the US, will challenge American tariffs through the World Trade Organization (WTO), the country’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
It came after US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China starting on Tuesday.
The imposition of tariffs by the US “seriously violates” WTO rules, the ministry said, urging the US to “engage in frank dialogue and strengthen cooperation”.
Filing a lawsuit with the WTO would be a largely symbolic move that Beijing has also taken against tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles by the EU.
The commerce ministry also said the tariffs were “not only unhelpful in solving the US’s own problems, but also undermine normal economic and trade cooperation”. As we mentioned in the opening summary, China has said it would take countermeasures to “safeguard its own rights and interests”. It is not clear exactly what form these will take yet. But for weeks Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has said Beijing believes there is no winner in a trade war.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the tariffs “unjustified”, “unfair” and “illegal”, as he said they broke the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement reached in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office.
Ford told CNN:
Well, we’ll have retaliatory measures. It’s unfortunate, we don’t want to do it. We’d rather have a strong trading partner with the US…
We want to ship down more products, more critical minerals, more oil. That’s what we want to do. But I can assure you what president Trump underestimates: the resilience of the Canadian people.
He pointed out that Canada is the US’s largest trading partner and largest export destination. Ford said inflation is going to rise as a result of Trump’s actions.
He said Canada will announce “retaliatory” tariffs. Since the CNN interview, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has said he will impose 25% tariffs on $155bn worth of American goods - $30bn will come into force on Tuesday and another $125bn in three weeks. He said Trump is unfairly “lumping” Canada in with China and Mexico, pointing out the fact that, compared to Mexico, a tiny amount of drugs are entering the US from Canada.
Trump said the tariffs were in part imposed over his concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking, and has said that Canada is among the countries profiting unfairly from trade with the US.
Ford told CNN:
What’s really disturbing when president Trump is using fentanyl as a reason, lumping us in with Mexico and China – the figures from US Customs is very clear.
There’s over 9,600 kilos coming fentanyl coming from Mexico. Ours is 19 kilos, which is too much, which is point 001% of fentanyl, compared to Mexico coming into the US, compared to over 25,000 kilos of narcotics, be it heroin or cocaine, opioids coming from the US into Canada.
President Trump’s decision to tariff Canada is extremely disappointing and will hurt millions of workers on both sides of the border. We don’t want to be here, but make no mistake: Canada will hit back and we’ll hit back hard. pic.twitter.com/BcqMR4yfq3
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 2, 2025
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US consumers will see higher prices at the gas pump from Donald Trump’s decision on Saturday to apply tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil, according to analysts and fuel traders.
The likely hike in fuel prices reflects the double-edged nature of Trump’s trade protections, which are designed to bolster domestic business and pressure US neighbors to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling, but which will also run counter to his promises to tackle inflation.
The US imports some 4m barrels per day of Canadian oil, 70% of which is processed by refiners in the midwest. It also imports more than 450,000 barrels per day of Mexican oil, mainly for refiners concentrated along the US Gulf coast.
Tariffs on those imports mean higher costs for making finished fuels like gasoline, much of which is likely to be passed along to US consumers.
You can read the full story here:
Japan 'deeply concerned' about how Trump's tariffs could impact the world economy
Japanese finance minister, Katsunobu Kato has expressed “deep concern” over the tariff proposal, which may spark a wider trade war as they threaten upheaval across supply chains, from energy to cars to food.
He told Fuji TV: “We’re deeply concerned about how these tariffs could affect the world’s economy.”
“Japan needs to scrutinise these policies and their effects, and take appropriate measures,” the minister was quoted by Fuji TV as saying.
Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to meet Trump later this week in the US, according to reports, as Tokyo tries to strengthen ties with the new Trump administration. Japanese companies are worried that protectionist policies could dampen and disrupt global shipments.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, meanwhile, has ordered government agencies to closely monitor any impact on domestic firms and the economy after Trump ordered sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, his office said.
The tariffs are expected to affect South Korean companies running factories in these countries.
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China, Mexico and Canada accounted for more than 40% of imports into America last year. US President Donald Trump, who has also threatened to impose tariffs against EU nations, says the new tariffs will help grow the US economy, raise tax revenues and protect American jobs. However, critics, including many economists, have warned that additional costs will be passed onto American consumers, exacerbating an already acute cost of living crisis.
My colleague Lauren Aratani has done this useful explainer exploring how US consumers will be affected by the tariffs, why Trump is using them to enact his policy agenda and how other countries have responded to the US president’s announcement.
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Canada and Mexico hit back against Trump's trade tariffs as Beijing vows 'countermeasures'
Canada, Mexico and China have promised to hit back after the imposition of sweeping US tariffs announced by Donald Trump on Saturday.
Trump claimed the move was in response to a “major threat” from illegal immigration and drugs. Canadian and Mexican exports to the US will face a 25% tariff starting Tuesday, although energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% levy.
Goods from China, which already face various rates of duties, will see an additional 10% tariff. A tariff is a domestic tax placed on goods as they enter a country, proportional to the value of the import.
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in imposing the tariffs, with the White House saying “the extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency.”
The aim is to hold all three countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” the White House added.
How has China, Canada and Mexico reacted to the sweeping tariff announcement?
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported a statement from China’s commerce ministry that it would take “corresponding countermeasures” and file a claim against Washington at the World Trade Organization.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her country would impose retaliatory tariffs.
Sheinbaum said she had told her economy minister “to implement Plan B that we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - who spoke with Sheinbaum - separately said his country would hit back with 25% levies of its own on select American goods worth Can$155 billion (US$106.6 billion), with a first round on Tuesday followed by a second one in three weeks.
“We’re certainly not looking to escalate. But we will stand up for Canada, for Canadians, for Canadian jobs,” he said, as he warned of a fracture in longstanding Canada-US ties.
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