Tuesday Briefing: Trump threatens new tariffs
Good morning. We’re covering Trump’s new tariffs meant to pressure Venezuela and the U.S. accidentally sharing secret war plans. Plus, the practical magic of “speedcubing.”
Trump targets Venezuela with new tariffsPresident Trump said yesterday that countries that bought oil or gas from Venezuela would be forced to pay a tariff of 25 percent on their exports to the U.S., starting April 2. He claimed that Venezuela had “purposefully and deceitfully” sent criminals and murderers into the U.S. Later in the day, Trump said that he “may give a lot of countries breaks” on the tariffs, but did not specify which ones. His administration gave Chevron, the second largest U.S. oil company, another two months to produce oil in Venezuela and sell it to the U.S. Trump also celebrated Hyundai Motor, a South Korean conglomerate, at the White House for its announcement of a $21 billion investment in the U.S. The move may help South Korea avoid tariffs. The U.S. is set to enforce reciprocal tariffs on April 2 that will match the taxes that countries impose on American exports. Far-reaching effects: Japanese automakers, initially optimistic about some of Trump’s policies, are reckoning with potentially devastating U.S. taxes on foreign-made cars. Shaping tariffs: Makers of a vast array of American products are weighing the risks, and potential payoffs, of the sweeping tariffs the president has promised to impose on April 2.
Hegseth accidentally sent secret war plans to a journalistDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed war plans in an encrypted Signal chat group that included a journalist hours before U.S. troops attacked the Houthi militia in Yemen, the White House said yesterday. The admission came after the journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, wrote in an article that he was mistakenly added to the chat by Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. Details: On March 15, Hegseth posted the “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” according to Goldberg. The National Security Council spokesman said the message thread appeared to be authentic. Context: The exchange took place outside the official channels that would normally be used for classified and highly sensitive war planning. But Hegseth, the journalist wrote, declared to the group that they were “currently clean on OPSEC,” the military acronym for operational security. |
