Tuesday Briefing: A tariff deal with Mexico
Good morning. We’re covering Trump’s tariff deal with Mexico and new U.S. intelligence on Iran’s weapons program. Plus, the best and worst moments at the Grammys.
Mexico struck a tariff deal as Canada braced for impactPresident Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico made a deal yesterday with the Trump administration to delay tariffs for a month, just hours before the punishing levies were set to go into effect. Canada remained in a perilous spot as the country faced hefty 25 percent tariffs on its exports to the U.S. Trump also moved ahead with plans for a 10 percent tariff against China and warned that the European Union would be next. Stocks dropped sharply on Wall Street after markets in Asia and Europe tumbled, but bounced back after the deal with Mexico was announced. A reprieve: Mexico and the U.S. reached a series of agreements on border security, including a promise by Mexico to send 10,000 more troops to the border. Trump-Trudeau talks: Shortly before a phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump repeated a litany of complaints against Canada. “We aren’t treated well by Canada,” he said. Trump said that the U.S. did not need Canada to make cars, and didn’t need Canadian lumber or agricultural products. He again said he would like to see Canada become the 51st state. Follow our live coverage.
Iran is considering an atomic weapon shortcut, U.S. saidIran’s engineers are exploring how to rapidly turn stockpiles of nuclear fuel into a workable, but perhaps crude, atomic weapon should the country’s leaders decide to race for a bomb, U.S. officials said. Their findings, based on intelligence collected in the final months of the Biden administration, suggest that Iran’s military is feeling diminished. Its proxy forces have been eviscerated and its missiles failed to pierce U.S. and Israeli defenses. Tehran’s military is now seriously exploring new options to deter an attack from either country. What’s next: The new evidence will almost certainly be a part of discussions today in Washington between Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Middle East: As Israel and Hamas prepare for negotiations to extend their truce, four rival models for Gaza’s future have begun to take shape.
A pro-Russia Ukrainian was killed in MoscowArmen Sarkisyan, the founder of a separatist battalion fighting in eastern Ukraine, was killed yesterday after a bomb exploded inside a gated residence in Moscow, Russian media said. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack. Delays: A standoff between Ukraine’s defense minister and the official who oversees weapons procurement is disrupting contracts and could cause future shortages in army supplies, defense companies say. |
