Trump hours away from unveiling global tariffs in possible shake-up of US economic strategy – live
Trump hours away from unveiling global tariffs
As part of his so-called “liberation day”, Donald Trump is set to unveil new details of part of his economic plan, including tariffs on multiple countries, at 4pm ET today.
Although exact details have yet to be revealed, Trump has previously entertained the idea of reciprocal tariffs in which the US would reciprocate the tariffs that other countries have levied on US exports.
Countries that Trump has mentioned which would be on the receiving end of reciprocal tariffs include China, Brazil and India, and the European Union.
Also on the table is 25% tariffs on all imports coming into the US from Canada and Mexico.
Trump has already announced an additional 20% tariff on all Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. There is also a 10% tariff on energy imports from Canada.
Key events
Robert Tait
Democrats were tasting unfamiliar triumphalism on Wednesday after the election for a vacant Wisconsin supreme court seat turned into an emphatic repudiation of Elon Musk, Donald Trump’s richest supporter and key ally.
Musk endured a wave of gloating on Twitter/X, his own social media platform, after Brad Schimel, a Trump-endorsed judge that he spent $25m supporting lost by 10 percentage points to Susan Crawford, whose victory sustained a 4-3 liberal majority on the court.
On a day that Trump has earmarked as “liberation day” to mark his long-awaited rollout of trade tariffs, Democrats seized on the result as a referendum on Musk – who has spearheaded the president’s slashing of federal government workers and spending programmes – while casting it as a platform for a recovery in next year’s congressional midterm elections.
For the full story, click here:
White House pushes back against report Musk is soon leaving administration
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has pushed back against reports that Donald Trump has told his inner circle that Elon Musk will be taking a step back from the Trump administration.
Calling the Wednesday report from Politico a “‘scoop’ [that] is garbage”, Leavitt said:
“Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at Doge is complete.”
According to three people familiar with the matter who spoke to Politico, Trump remains pleased with Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency”.
However, both Musk and Trump have agreed in recent days “that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role”, Politico reports.
Donald Trump’s tariffs plan has received some mixed reactions in New York City, with some people saying, “I believe we were lied to.”
The Guardian’s Edward Helmore reports:
Outside Macy’s in midtown Manhattan, a couple agreed on their feelings that Trump had misled voters when he vowed during the campaign to make everything cheaper. “Tariffs will affect people across the country,” said the shopper, who offered his name as Tom. “I believe we were lied to,” he said, predicting that Republican voters in red states would soon come to agree. “I think some have changed their views already, and more will continue to do,” he added.
Trump’s tariffs threaten to unleash a global trade war – and raise prices for everyone around the world. Some visitors were shocked at how expensive New York already was.
A couple from the Netherlands said they had just paid $18 for two ice-creams. “New York is already very expensive,” said one, Patrick. “Two ice-creams would be like six dollars in the Netherlands.”
A couple visiting from Indiana, who declined to give their names, revealed split thinking on the issue. “I really don’t understand the tariffs so I’m just waiting to see,” said the woman.
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Vermont’s Democratic senator Peter Welch criticized Donald Trump’s tariff’s plans on the Senate floor.
Saying that the tariffs are not only “going to do direct and immediate economic harm to everyday Vermont families and farmers maple sugar producers”, Welch said that they will also “start eroding the trust that is the benefit of good relations over time” between the US and its neighbors.
“That’s what he’s embracing, totally bad, totally wrong, doomed. And the only question is, how much pain will he inflict everyday Vermonters, before he comes to his senses and withdraws this tariff policy?” Welch added.
We reported earlier that Donald Trump has told his inner circle that Elon Musk will be taking a step back from the Trump administration, according to Politico.
A White House source has told Reuters that that Musk’s work with the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) would be done within his 130-day mandate.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has communicated that to the president multiple times, the source told the news agency.
Musk was not leaving before his Doge work was done “and no one is pushing him out”, the source added.
McConnell privately tells Democrat he would support effort to undo Trump’s Canada tariff
Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, has privately indicated to Democratic senator Tim Kaine that he would support Kaine’s resolution to undo Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
Kaine told reporters that he approached McConnell on the Senate floor yesterday evening. He said:
I said, ‘I want to talk to you about my Canadian tariffs bill.’ And, you know, I didn’t even get to the question, and he said, ‘I’m with you.’
Kaine added that he had “rock solid support” from four Republican senators: McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul.
The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said Tuesday’s election results in Florida and Wisconsin were a sign of the Democratic party’s strength, citing recent special elections in Iowa and Pennsylvania.
“What we’ve seen every single month this year, Democrats in special elections all over the country win or over perform,” Jeffries said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Despite the effort by some to project this notion that House Democrats, Senate Democrats, the Democratic party is cowering – we’re not cowering. We’re beating them over and over and over again.
‘This is not ‘liberation day”: House minority leader says ‘it’s recession day’
The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has warned that Donald Trump’s rollout of new tariffs would increase prices and ultimate drive the US into a recession.
“This is not ‘liberation day’,” Jeffries said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It’s recession day in the United States of America.” He added:
That’s what the Trump tariffs are going to do: crash the economy.
Oliver Milman
Michael Waltz, the embattled national security adviser to Donald Trump, and other members of the national security council have reportedly used personal Gmail accounts to conduct government business.
The apparent use of Gmail, a relatively insecure method of communication for high-level government officials, places further scrutiny upon Waltz, who is already under pressure after adding a journalist to a group chat on the commercial Signal app, where top US officials then planned and celebrated a US airstrike in Yemen last month.
The revelations of the Gmail use come from the Washington Post, which said it has reviewed documents and interviewed three unnamed officials about the apparent security lapse.
Waltz had “potentially exploitable information” sent to his Gmail, such as his schedule and other work documents, the Post reported.
One of Waltz’s aides on the national security council, meanwhile, allegedly used Gmail for more sensitive material, such as discussing military positions and weapons systems with colleagues in other government agencies who used their government-issued accounts.
Trump tells inner circle Musk will leave administration soon -report
Donald Trump has told his inner circle that Elon Musk will be taking a step back from the Trump administration, Politico reports.
According to three people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump remains pleased with Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency”.
However, both Musk and Trump have agreed in recent days “that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role”, Politico reports.
One senior Trump official said that Musk will probably retain an informal role as an adviser to the president and may be seen occasionally around the White House.
Another insider told Politico that anyone who thinks Musk is going to fully remove himself from Trump’s circle is “fooling themselves”.
Trump hours away from unveiling global tariffs
As part of his so-called “liberation day”, Donald Trump is set to unveil new details of part of his economic plan, including tariffs on multiple countries, at 4pm ET today.
Although exact details have yet to be revealed, Trump has previously entertained the idea of reciprocal tariffs in which the US would reciprocate the tariffs that other countries have levied on US exports.
Countries that Trump has mentioned which would be on the receiving end of reciprocal tariffs include China, Brazil and India, and the European Union.
Also on the table is 25% tariffs on all imports coming into the US from Canada and Mexico.
Trump has already announced an additional 20% tariff on all Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. There is also a 10% tariff on energy imports from Canada.
As part of his ruling, US judge Dale Ho rejected claims from the justice department that the case against Eric Adams was based on political motivations by those who disagreed with Adams’ hardline positions on immigration.
Ho wrote:
Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.
He added:
There is no evidence – zero – that they had any improper motives … The record does not show that this case has impaired Mayor Adams in his immigration enforcement efforts.
Ho, who dismissed the case with prejudice, also noted that dismissing the case without it “would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration”.
Here is the fuller report on Eric Adams’ federal corruption case dismissal, as reported by Guardian staff and agencies:
Critics of the justice department and Adams said a dismissal without prejudice would leave the Democratic mayor beholden to the administration of Republican president Donald Trump in advancing its hard-right agenda.
New Yorkers will vote in the mayoral election this November and Adams has resisted pressure to step down or announce he will no longer run for a second term. New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, decided not to ask Adams to quit office.
Adams, 64, pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials in exchange for favors, including pressuring city fire department officials to allow Turkey to open a new Manhattan consulate despite safety concerns.
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Eric Adams corruption case dismissed
A US judge on Wednesday dismissed the federal corruption case against New York City mayor Eric Adams, adding that the charges cannot be brought again.
US district judge Dale Ho’s decision to dismiss the case with prejudice was in line with the recommendation of a lawyer he asked to offer independent arguments, but contrary to the justice department request for a dismissal without prejudice, Reuters reports.
Last September, Adams was hit with a five-count criminal indictment following a lengthy investigation by federal prosecutors into his financial dealings with foreign sources, including Turkish government officials.
According to federal prosecutors, Adams “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him”.
Adams, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, has yet to comment on his case’s dismissal.
Biden’s former health secretary Xavier Becerra announces California governor bid
Biden’s former health secretary Xavier Becerra has announced his run to be California’s next governor.
The 67-year-old Sacramento native and former attorney general of California released a video on Wednesday which Politico first reviewed, saying:
I watched my parents – a construction worker and a clerical worker – achieve the California dream … Can we do that today, with this affordability crisis? Very tough. But we’ve taken on these tough fights … We can do that, but you need a leader who can be tough.
According to Becerra’s campaign, he will not drop out of the race if Kamala Harris – also one of California’s former attorney generals and the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee – decides to join the race.
In a new video released on Wednesday morning after his record-breaking Senate speech – interspersed with images of Donald Trump and JD Vance – Cory Booker said:
So here’s perhaps one of the greatest leadership lessons there is: that real leaders don’t lecture you on how great they are. They remind you how great we are and how great we can be together. Real leaders don’t spend all their time pointing fingers of blame …
Real leaders don’t stand up and say, ‘Only I can lead you. Follow me.’ Real leaders remind us that we are the leaders that we need … This is a moment that we need real leadership to remind us that this is our nation, that we can heal, that we could help – and most of all, in times like this, that we must all lead out of the darkness.
David Hogg, gun control activist and vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, also took to X to celebrate Susan Crawford’s win.
Posting several photos of himself with Wisconsin voters, Hogg wrote:
Congratulations to my friends in Wisconsin who I went doorknocking with last month to turn out voters for Judge Susan Crawford!
Kamala Harris congratulates Wisconsin voters on election Susan Crawford
Kamala Harris congratulated Wisconsin voters on liberal judge Susan Crawford’s win over Brad Schimel, an Elon Musk-backed Republican candidate and former state attorney general.
Speaking in a video address on X, Harris said:
You all are just extraordinary, you love our country, you care. You are making such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of so many people, on behalf of communities … You all are working on behalf of an individual, a candidate in Judge Crawford who will always fight to protect your freedoms and your rights …
Referring to Musk, Harris went on to add:
There is an unelected billionaire who should not and will not have a greater voice than the working people of Wisconsin.
Donald Trump proclaims what he has dubbed ‘liberation day’ as world awaits tariff news
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump has said it is “liberation day” in the US.
Referring to the upcoming tariffs announcement, the president wrote (in all capital letters):
IT’S LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA!
