Trump World

In a dramatic shift in the tariff war dynamic, two major deals were announced by Donald Trump, one with the UK and one with China, the latter being even more impactful on the tariff wars than the former.

The UK deal includes a 10% baseline tariff on most imported UK goods still in place but an elimination of UK Steel tariffs and a reduction on UK auto tariffs from 27.5% to 10%. In exchange, the UK will eliminate tariffs on U.S. ethanol and U.S. beef, as well as reductions and eliminations on “U.S. machinery, sports equipment, and other agricultural products.”

The China Trade deal will see China’s import tariff reduced from 145% to 30% for 90 days. In exchange, China will reduce U.S. import tariffs from 125% to 10% for 90 days as well. They will also remove all retaliatory tariffs for 90 days. The deal also included an informal agreement China will work on preventing fentanyl from reaching U.S. shores.

Trump: Trade deal with Beijing will open up Chinese market for US businesses – Apa.az
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German Chancellor Freidrich Merz has told President Trump and the United States to “stay out” of his country’s politics.

The country’s intelligence agency confirmed last week that it had classified the conservative Alternative for Germany party as a “proven right-wing extremist organization” because of their opposition to mass immigration and progressive ideology.

In a post on the X platform, Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed German authorities for their continued crackdown against their political opposition.

He wrote:

Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.

What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.

Germany should reverse course.

Trump puts the U.N. on notice: Don’t expect the gravy train to keep rolling – Washington Times
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The United Nations is not exactly known for its thrifty ways. Despite facing periodic pressure to reduce its budget, the world body spends trillions of dollars annually, and much of that funding comes from the United States. Thanks to President Trump, that’s about to change.

Almost lost amid the flurry of executive orders Mr. Trump has signed since Inauguration Day is one calling for a review of all “international intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member.” As the title of Mr. Trump’s order makes clear, withdrawing from these organizations is very much on the table.

The United Nations is on notice, so its leadership recently told all its departments to prepare a list of budget cuts.

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The European Union launched a drive on Monday to attract scientists and researchers to Europe with offers of grants and new policy plans, after the Trump administration froze U.S. government funding linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“A few years ago, no one would have imagined that one of the biggest democracies in the world would cancel research programs under the pretext that the word diversity was in this program,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the “Choose Europe for Science” event in Paris.

“No one would have thought that one of the biggest democracies in the world would delete with a stroke the ability of one researcher or another to obtain visas,” Macron said. “But here we are.”

Taking the same stage at the Sorbonne University, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU’s executive branch would set up a “super grant” program aimed at offering “a longer-term perspective to the very best” in the field.

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Donald Trump says he doesn’t think he will send military to take over Canada.

President Donald Trump again spoke about making Canada the 51st state of the United States as he gave an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press but he said it would not come to the point where he has to use military to take over Canada, but the same can’t be said about Greenland.
Trump said he would talk to Mark Carney about the issue once he comes to the White House. “You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year. We don’t need their cars. In fact, we don’t want their cars. We don’t need their energy. We don’t even want their energy. We have more than they do. We don’t want their lumber. We have great lumber. All I have to do is free it up from the environmental lunatics. We don’t need anything that they have. We’re giving them — I asked, I asked Mr Trudeau — who I call Governor Trudeau, not Prime Minister, Governor — I said, “Governor Trudeau, could I ask you one question? Why are we giving you $200 billion? Why are we subsidizing Canada?” If Canada was a state it wouldn’t cost us. It would be great.”

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The grant, which will be offered between 2025 and 2027, comes as the Trump administration has cut more than 380 domestic grant programs in the last month. Trump justified the cuts by saying they violated his executive order, which prohibited funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion directives.

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed the grant at the “Choose Europe for Science” event in Paris.

“A few years ago, no one would have imagined that one of the biggest democracies in the world would cancel research programs under the pretext that the word diversity was in this program,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “No one would have thought that one of the biggest democracies in the world would delete with a stroke the ability of one researcher or another to obtain visas,” Macron said, but here we are.”

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Over a thousand years ago, the Viking leader Erik the Red discovered a new land after being exiled for murdering his neighbor. To entice his fellow Vikings to settle the icy island, he called it Greenland, highlighting its more hospitable southern and western coasts. The settlers that took the bait struggled but endured.

Today, Greenland’s value needs no exaggeration. Its mineral wealth is well-understood, certainly by some in Washington, who seek to acquire the island — ­­a Danish territory. Some of the same voices also promote Greenland’s military value. Gaining political control of the island may, in fact, be a bad deal for the United States, but Washington cannot afford to ignore Greenland’s importance to Arctic and North Atlantic security.

The 2024 Defense Arctic Strategy of monitor-and-respond is insufficiently resourced for competition and not viable for conflict. A geostrategic view shows that the United States should view the Arctic as a connective region with important military ramifications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific, rather than as a separate theater. The United States should re-imagine its strategic framework to view its geostrategic position as a large “line of contact” extending from the South China Sea, over the Arctic, to the Black Sea. Greenland is a linchpin in this framework, providing basing and sensor opportunities permissible by the 1951 Defense of Greenland treaty, with Danish concurrence. Modest investments in sensors and bases in Greenland would significantly enhance America’s strategic Arctic position.