American News
Trump’s Tariff Tsunami
Paris (Imran Y. CHOUDHRY) :- Former Press Secretary to the President, Former Press Minister to the Embassy of Pakistan to France, Former MD, SRBC Mr. Qamar Bashir analysis : In a bombastic move on April 2nd—now dubbed “Liberation Day” by his supporters—President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping 25% tariff on all imports entering the United States, sparking what critics now call an economic tsunami with global shockwaves. The announcement, delayed a day to avoid being mistaken for an April Fool’s prank, was anything but a joke. Trump, in a gusty outdoor speech laced with boasts and grievances, claimed this tariff was a necessary act of “reciprocity” to combat what he called “decades of abuse and rip-offs.” Brandishing a small chart—too flimsy for the wind but heavy with political intent—he rattled off figures: China, 67%; European Union, 39%; Vietnam, 90%; India, 52%. “We charge them less than they charge us,” he said, promising “discounted reciprocal tariffs” to correct these imbalances. “They rip us off,” he thundered, “and they all understand—we’re done with tough talk, now it’s tough love.”
But love was not the reaction. The backlash, both international and domestic, was immediate, and fierce. Nowhere was the response more visceral than in Canada. In the midst of an election season, Canadian political parties competed to condemn the U.S. decision, reflecting a dramatic pivot from decades of bilateral cooperation.
Trump’s tariffs and counter tariffs by Canada have hit the border states like Michigan. These states have historically relied on Canadian imports—especially electricity, petroleum, and food—thanks to low transportation costs and seamless trade channels. Over 90% of electricity imports to Michigan, New York, and Vermont come from Canada. Now, Ottawa has threatened to cut off this lifeline in retaliation, while imposing its own 25% tariffs on U.S. goods. Midwestern grocery bills are expected to rise, energy costs may spike, and inflationary pressures could deepen in communities already struggling with economic stagnation.
U.S.–China trade, valued at over $600 billion, has entered a new cold war. In 2023, the U.S. imported $536 billion in Chinese goods, while exporting just $151 billion. Trump’s confrontational posture—emphasizing Chinese currency manipulation and trade barriers—has reignited tensions. “They charge us 67%, we charge 34%. That’s fair,” Trump insisted during his speech.
But the effects are destabilizing. Tesla, once a darling of U.S.-China innovation, has seen a nosedive in its Chinese exports and a sharp decline in domestic sales, which fell by nearly 12% in Q1 alone. Chinese sales dropped over 18%, according to industry analysts, reflecting both nationalist backlash and waning consumer confidence. The company’s stock has plummeted by over 20% since the tariff announcement, wiping out billions in market value. Protesters, both in China and the U.S., have vandalized or torched Tesla vehicles in a symbolic rejection of corporate favoritism and U.S. hegemony. In response, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned that anyone damaging American property, especially Tesla vehicles, would face “exemplary punishment”—a statement underscoring growing domestic unease.
Across the Atlantic, the European Union—long America’s closest geopolitical ally—is plotting a future without the United States. Disenchanted by Trump’s isolationist tone, European leaders have begun discussions on a new continental defense pact, an EU-only military alliance to replace NATO’s aging framework. Trade between the EU and U.S., worth over $850 billion annually, is now at risk. Trump accused the bloc of “ripping us off,” citing a 39% tariff disparity. “We’re charging them 20%—essentially half,” he said. The move could lead to billions in trade losses, job cuts, and a new transatlantic chill. Europe’s pivot marks a sobering moment: where once America led, it now alienates.
Trump’s heavy-handed tactics are also reshaping the balance of power in Asia. Longtime allies Japan and South Korea, both targets of the new tariffs (46% and 40% respectively), have joined China in forming a new regional economic bloc. Trump acknowledged the disparities but placed the blame squarely on his predecessors: “I don’t blame the people of Japan. I blame the people who sat behind the Resolute Desk before me.”
This coalition aims to reduce dependence on American markets and technologies. Already, joint investment and infrastructure projects are being launched in Southeast Asia. Trump’s “America First” mantra has become a rallying cry for Asian solidarity—ironically against America itself.
Even India—whose Prime Minister Trump described as a “great friend”—is hedging its bets. “You’re not treating us right,” Trump told him. India’s 52% tariffs have long been a sore point, but unlike other nations, New Delhi has opted for quiet recalibration. Rather than retaliate directly, India is expanding its trade with Africa and Southeast Asia while increasing defense purchases from Europe and Russia. The U.S.-India relationship, once seen as a cornerstone of Indo-Pacific security, is beginning to drift.
At home, the economic aftershocks are already being felt. A 25% blanket tariff on imports means sharp price hikes for goods ranging from electronics and automobiles to food and clothing. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, this could inflate consumer prices by 1.5%–2% annually—costing the average American household over $1,200 per year.
Working-class families will be hardest hit, especially in states like Michigan where Canadian imports are a cornerstone of affordability. Small businesses, too, are bracing for impact. Unable to absorb higher raw material costs, many may be forced to raise prices, lay off workers, or close entirely. Without parallel wage growth, the U.S. could see its economy veer into stagnation.
In defense of his policy storm, Trump claimed that “massive investment” was pouring into the U.S. He cited semiconductor plants and factory deals as signs of success. But economists note that such investments take 3–5 years to bear fruit—longer than Trump’s remaining time in office. More controversially, he has hinted at seeking a third term, despite the constitutional ban. The gesture, even if symbolic, has injected fresh political uncertainty into an already polarized nation.
President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and global posturing have ushered the U.S. into a precarious moment. Allies are distancing, global institutions are straining, and domestic pressures are mounting. From Tesla fires to electricity shortages, from diplomatic ruptures to inflation spikes—his administration appears to be gambling with not just America’s future, but global stability itself.
As the world watches, one question remains: is this strategic rebalancing—or the unraveling of the international order as we know it?
American News
President Donald Trump is asking the US Supreme Court to review the $5m (£3.6m) civil case that found he defamed and sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll.
He has repeatedly claimed that the judge who oversaw the civil trial, Lewis Kaplan, improperly allowed evidence to be presented that hurt how the jury viewed Trump.
A federal appeals court agreed with the jury’s verdict last year and said Kaplan did not make errors that would warrant a new trial.
A New York jury awarded Ms Carroll damages over her civil claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s, and then branded the incident a hoax on social media. He denied the allegations.
The Supreme Court is now Trump’s last hope of overturning the unanimous jury’s verdict. Whether the top US court will take the case up is unclear.
A federal appeals court declined to rehear Trump’s challenge to it in June.
Trump’s comments about the jury’s findings in the case led a separate jury to order him to pay Ms Carroll $83m for defaming her. A panel of federal judges denied his appeal of that decision in September, and Trump has now taken the next step in trying to have it overturned by asking the full bench of judges at a federal appeals court to review the case.
In the petition to the Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers argued Kaplan should not have let jurors see the 2005 Access Hollywood tape that showed the president saying he groped and kissed women.
“There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation,” they wrote about Ms Carroll’s allegations.
“Instead, Carroll waited more than 20 years to falsely accuse Donald Trump, who she politically opposes, until after he became the 45th president, when she could maximize political injury to him and profit for herself.”
Roberta Kaplan, Ms Carroll’s attorney, told the BBC she had no comment on the Supreme Court appeal.
While Trump was found to have defamed and sexually abused Ms Carroll, the jury rejected her claim of rape as defined in New York’s penal code.
Ms Carroll, a former magazine columnist who is now 81, sued Trump for attacking her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room in Manhattan. The defamation stemmed from Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform in 2022 denying her claim.
Trump has said Ms Carroll was “not my type” and that she lied.
American News
Four potential obstacles in House vote to end US shutdown
A day after the US Senate passed a spending bill to end the longest-ever government shutdown, the budget fight now moves to the House of Representatives.
The lower chamber of Congress is expected to vote this week on the funding measure.
Unlike in the Senate, if House Republicans stay united, they don’t need any Democrats to pass the budget. But the margin for error is razor thin.
Here are four potential hold-ups for the budget, before it can clear Congress and land on the president’s desk for signing into law.
Will House Republicans budge on healthcare?
A key sticking point throughout the shutdown has been a desire on the part of Democrats to attach to the spending bill a renewal of tax credits that make health insurance less expensive for 24 million Americans.
Senate Republicans instead only agreed to grant Democrats a vote in December on whether to extend the subsidies – something they had already offered weeks ago.
And House Speaker Mike Johnson would not commit on Monday to allowing a vote in his chamber on the tax credits.
This entails a fair degree of political risk for Republicans, however. If they torpedo the subsidies, health coverage premiums could rocket, handing Democrats a ready-made campaign issue for next year’s midterm elections.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative Republican congresswoman from Georgia, has broken ranks with President Donald Trump to warn that her party must ensure health insurance premiums do not spike.
As the clock ticks down to the subsidies expiring by the end of December, Republicans are working out their plan.
They want income caps on who can receive the tax credits, and are proposing the tax dollars bypass insurance companies and go straight to individuals – although the details are unclear.
How intense will House Democratic opposition be?
Out of power in Washington, where Trump’s Republicans control the House and Senate, Democrats appeared finally to have some political wind in their sails after a handful of election wins last week in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City.
But those victories, like the shutdown fight, have accentuated strategic tensions between the pragmatic and progressive, or left-wing, factions of the party.
The Democratic left is furious at defectors who voted with Senate Republicans to pass the budget on Monday, seeing this as a capitulation to Trump.
From that wing of the party, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake”. California Governor Gavin Newsom called it “surrender”.
Congressman Greg Casar of Texas, the chairman of the House Progressive Caucus, warned: “A deal that doesn’t reduce healthcare costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them.”
However, centrist lawmakers like Jared Golden of Maine, who represents one of the most conservative districts in the nation held by any Democrat, may cross the aisle.
Golden, who recently announced he won’t run for re-election, is likely to vote for the package, his office indicated to Axios, a political outlet, on Monday.
Another moderate Democrat, Henry Cuellar of Texas, could help get the Republicans’ spending plan over the line.
“It’s past time to put country over party and get our government working again for the American people,” he posted on social media on Sunday.
American News
Fight fake news and defeat climate deniers, Brazil’s Lula tells UN talks
The world must “defeat” climate denialism and fight fake news, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has told the opening meeting of the UN climate talks.
In a rallying cry to COP30, President Lula again made thinly-veiled references to President Donald Trump who branded climate change “a con job” in September.
The two weeks of talks kicked off on Monday in the lush Brazilian city of Belém on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.
They take place against a fraught political backdrop and the US has sent no senior officials.
On Monday thousands of delegates poured into the COP venue in a heavily air-conditioned former aerodrome, some coming from accommodation in shipping containers and cruise ships moored on the riverside.
Members of the Guajajara indigenous group, in traditional dress, performed a welcome song and dance for assembled diplomats.
Addressing the conference, President Lula said “COP30 will be the COP of truth” in an era of “fake news and misrepresentation” and “rejection of scientific evidence”.
Without naming President Trump, President Lula continued, “they control the algorithms, sew hatred and spread fear”.
“It’s time to inflict a new defeat on the deniers,” he said.
Since President Trump took office in January, he has promised to invest heavily in fossil fuels, saying that this will secure greater economic prosperity for the US.
His administration has cancelled more than $13bn of funding for renewable energy and is taking steps to open up more areas of the US to oil and gas exploration.
That puts the country at odds with the majority of nations still committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investing in green energy.
This backdrop has put the COP talks in a difficult position as nations aim to make progress on tackling climate change without the participation of the world’s biggest economy.
Some delegates fear that the US could still decide to send officials to undermine the talks. Other environmental talks collapsed this year following US pressure, labelled “bully-boy tactics” by some participants.
Addressing officials in Belém, UN climate chief Simon Stiell initially struck an optimistic tone. He said significant progress had been made in the last decade to reduce emissions of planet-warming gases.
But then he took aim at “squabbling” between countries.
“Not one single nation among you can afford this, as climate disasters rip double-digits off GDP,” he said.
Brazil wants to use its presidency of the talks to secure progress on key promises made in previous years.
That includes moving away from the use of planet-warming fossil fuels, finance for developing countries on the frontline of climate change, and protecting nature.
President Lula’s centrepiece is a fund called the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) that Brazil hopes will raise $125bn to protect tropical forests globally.
But fund-raising got off to a slow start, particularly after the UK decided at the last minute not to contribute public money.
Nations are yet to agree on the conference agenda.
Countries with competing interests are lobbying for new items to be added, including a plea from a coalition called Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) that includes Caribbean and Pacific countries at most risk from rising seas and rising global temperatures
The group called for the COP to discuss the long-held goal of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5C.
But in recent weeks even the UN has said it accepts that overshooting this temperature is “inevitable”.
Last week UN General Secretary General António Guterres told leaders in Belém that the failure to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C was a “moral failure and deadly negligence”.
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