Friday Briefing: Trump’s new tariffs risk trade war
Good morning. We’re covering global reaction to Trump’s car tariffs and Russia’s tactics in cease-fire talks. Plus, shark noises from New Zealand.
Trump’s car tariffs increased the risk of a trade warPresident Trump’s plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and parts imported into the U.S. sent a shudder through the global car industry. Markets in Asia, Europe and the U.S. wobbled yesterday as many automakers’ stock prices fell. Trump announced the tariffs on Wednesday and then raised the stakes yesterday by threatening to target the E.U. and Canada if they banded together to retaliate. Talk of retaliatory measures increased the likelihood of a worldwide trade war. The tariffs on all cars and some auto parts exported to the U.S. are set to go into effect on April 3. Mexico, Japan and South Korea, along with Canada, account for about 75 percent of U.S. vehicle imports. Here’s how major car brands will be affected by Trump’s tariffs. Reactions: Mark Carney, Canada’s leader, said that the U.S. was “no longer a reliable partner” and that his country would announce its own retaliatory tariffs next week. In Germany, which has an auto industry that is a huge exporter to the U.S., the economy minister, Robert Habeck, said it was “crucial that the E.U. delivers a decisive response to the tariffs,” adding, “It must be clear that we will not back down.”
Russia appears to be gaining an edge in Ukraine talksIn Paris yesterday, European leaders discussed a French proposal to send a “reassurance force” to Ukraine after the conflict ends. But Emmanuel Macron, France’s leader, said the contours of such a force were still being ironed out. The meeting followed three days of U.S.-brokered talks in Saudi Arabia this week that yielded deals between Russia and Ukraine on limited cease-fires on energy infrastructure and the Black Sea. For a look at the state of the negotiations, I reached out to my colleague Paul Sonne, who covers Russia. How has Russia approached the talks? Paul: There are a lot of doubts about whether Russia is seriously engaging or just running out the clock. By demanding that certain sanctions and restrictions be lifted before any cease-fire in the Black Sea, the Kremlin is dragging out negotiations, in part because some of what it is demanding would require not only U.S. action but European action as well. Judging by the statements this week, there was little that could be seen as a gain for Ukraine, which is already exporting its agricultural products via the western part of the Black Sea and has driven the Russian Navy out of the area. How would Moscow benefit if those sanctions were lifted? Russian food and fertilizer are not sanctioned. But restrictions on Russian shipping, insurance and banking make agricultural exports more difficult and expensive for Moscow, so it wants those restrictions eased — and Europe has some restrictions on Russian fish products that it also seems to want eased. Russia also wants sanctions lifted on the state agricultural bank, and for it to be reconnected to the international payments system Swift. But that would require agreement from European allies who have been cut out of the talks. In related coverage:
Anti-Hamas protests in Gaza growRare public protests for an end to the war and Hamas’s rule have spread to a number of towns across Gaza over the past three days. While most of the demonstrations have been small, they represent the boldest challenge yet to Hamas’s authority there since the war began in 2023. “Hamas needs to go away,” said Ahmad al-Masri, who helped call for the demonstrations. “If it doesn’t, the bloodshed, the wars and the destruction won’t stop.” Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition gave itself more power to pick judges, returning to an overhaul that divided the country before the war. |
