Trump says he’ll impose commerce tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Saturday – US politics reside

Federal authorities employees have been left “shell-shocked” by the upheaval wrought by Donald Trump’s return to the presidency.

Since being restored to the White Home on 20 January, Trump has gone on a revenge spree towards high-profile figures who beforehand served him however earned his enmity by slighting or criticising him in public.

He has cancelled Secret Service safety for 3 senior nationwide safety officers in his first presidency, fired high-profile figures from authorities roles on his social media website, and stripped 51 former intelligence officers of their safety clearances for doubting stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop computer as doable Russian disinformation.

Some senior officers noticed the writing on the wall and resigned earlier than his return, however others adopted a hope-for-the-best perspective – solely to be shocked by what awaited them, based on insiders.

“The most commons refrain I’m hearing from people who have left but are still talking to people on the inside is: ‘I knew it was going to be bad but I didn’t think it was going to be this bad,’” mentioned Mark Bergman, a veteran Democratic lawyer.

“There’s certainly shell shock. My view is that Trump is animated by his revenge and retribution agenda.”

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In addition to threatening to introduce tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, as we reported earlier, Donald Trump has mentioned he’ll impose 100% tariffs on the Brics international locations in the event that they try to interchange the US greenback because the dominant reserve foreign money.

The Brics is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in addition to latest entrants Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE.

Whereas the greenback stays by far the world’s main reserve foreign money, the previous few years have seen discussions amongst Brics members about rising the quantity of commerce finished utilizing their nationwide currencies, and even the opportunity of establishing a standard foreign money.

“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs,” Trump mentioned in a submit on social media.

“There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!”

Yesterday noticed Donald Trump’s controversial nominee to move the Division of Well being and Human Companies, Robert F Kennedy Jr, grilled about his views at a Senate affirmation listening to.

Watch unbiased senator Bernie Sanders ask Kennedy whether or not he believes discredited claims a few hyperlink between vaccines and autism.

A US nationwide is amongst three hostages set to be launched by Hamas below the phrases of the ceasefire take care of Israel.

In a submit to Telegram on Friday, Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, mentioned Israeli-American Keith Siegel can be freed on Saturday alongside Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon.

Siegal, 65, was taken hostage together with his spouse, Aviva, and was seen in a video launched by Hamas final yr.

His spouse was launched within the first hostage-for-prisoner change in November 2023.

You possibly can comply with all the newest on the newest exchanges on our Center East reside weblog.

Trump’s feedback on tariffs additionally lined China, who he accused of serving to to gas the opioid disaster within the US by way of imports of fentanyl.

“With China I’m also thinking about something because they’re sending fentanyl into our country and because of that they’re causing us hundreds of thousands of deaths,” he mentioned.

“China is going to end up paying a tariff also for that and we’re in the process of doing that. We’ll make a determination on what it’s going to be, but China has to stop sending fentanyl into our country and killing our people.”

Trump has threatened to introduce a ten% tariff on all Chinese language items, having imposed tariffs on round $370bn (£298bn) price of Chinese language imports throughout his first time period as president.

Fentanyl is an artificial opioid that’s considerably extra highly effective then heroin. It has professional medical makes use of for ache administration, however can be used recreationally.

In 2020, the US Drug Enforcement Administration mentioned China was the “primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail”.

Right here’s extra on these feedback from Donald Trump threatening to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, two of the US’s largest buying and selling companions.

He mentioned he was making the menace “for a number of reasons” however that he needs each international locations to do extra to safe their borders to scale back unlawful migration and the movement of fentanyl into the US.

Requested whether or not oil imports can be excluded from the tariffs, he mentioned “we may or may not”, including that it could rely on costs and whether or not the 2 international locations “treat us properly”.

Canada and Mexico are the highest two sources of US oil imports, accounting for 52% and 11% respectively in 2023, based on knowledge from the US Division of Power.

Good morning and welcome to our reside protection of the newest from US politics and Donald Trump’s second week in workplace.

First up, the US president has repeated his menace to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, saying they are going to be launched on Saturday.

Talking to reporters within the Oval Workplace, he mentioned the tariffs would start at 25% and “may or may not rise with time”.

He additionally repeated threats to impose new tariffs on items from China, citing its function within the fentanyl commerce, and on the Brics international locations.

Stick with us for extra on that and all of the day’s developments.