Dem senator says he will continue ‘fighting for the return’ of deported El Salvadoran man: ‘Won’t rest’
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Wednesday during his trip to El Salvador that he “won’t rest” until Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 member who was deported to a mega prison in his home country, is brought back to the United States. Van Hollen has described the man as “wrongfully abducted” and traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to discuss efforts to bring the man back to Maryland, where he was living illegally. The senator was able to speak with Vice President Félix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay, but was not able to make contact with Abrego Garcia in person or via phone. “I’ve been in El Salvador all day fighting for the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said in a caption to a video posted on X on Wednesday night. “The Trump Admin can lie all they want, but the Court said they failed to show he was part of MS-13. This is about bringing home a man they ADMIT should’ve never been abducted. I won’t rest until then.” BLUE STATE SENATOR FLIES TO EL SALVADOR TO VISIT DEPORTED MIGRANT IN PRISON, ONLY TO BE DENIED Van Hollen’s visit to El Salvador comes two days after an El Salvadoran illegal alien was convicted of raping and murdering Rachel Morin, a Maryland mom of five, on a trail in Bel Air. Morin’s mother, Patty, said Van Hollen has never reached out to her about her daughter’s violent murder in Maryland, yet he is prioritizing bringing a deported man back to the state. Van Hollen did release the following statement on his official Senate website shortly after Morin’s killer was convicted, writing that the “verdict brings a measure of justice that [Rachel’s family] so deserve[s].” “While the conviction of Rachel Morin’s killer will not return Rachel to her family where she rightfully belongs, this verdict brings a measure of justice that they so deserve. I’m grateful to the law enforcement officers who brought her killer into custody and for our legal process for delivering this justice. “As I have said in the past, the American people deserve meaningful action to reform our broken immigration system, improve public safety, and strengthen our border security. We can do this while also supporting our immigrant communities and respecting the rights of individuals who are here legally – I am committed to doing both, and I will continue pressing my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward on this issue.” TOM HOMAN ‘DISGUSTED’ BY DEM SENATOR’S TRIP TO BRING HOME ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER During an appearance at a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Patty Morin called out Van Hollen for his visit to El Salvador. “And to have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledge my daughter, and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother and now a grand baby without a grandmother, so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen,” she said. “Why does that person have more rights than I do for my daughter? For my grandchildren?” While he did not address Patty Morin directly, Van Hollen said in a video posted to X later Wednesday evening that he cares “about every victim of crime.” He also said that America has a court system to make sure criminals are held accountable and “that people who have not committed crimes, or not been convicted of crimes, are not disappeared out of the United States and sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, like Abrego Garcia.” “This is simply about letting him have his day in court. We use the courts to make sure that we don’t convict people who are not guilty, and that we convict those who are,” he said, in part. ‘MARYLAND MAN’ KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA EXPOSED IN POLICE RECORDS AS ‘VIOLENT’ REPEAT WIFE BEATER Abrego Garcia is at the center of a controversial debate after he was deported to El Salvador’s “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) for his alleged gang affiliation, which his attorneys have denied. The Department of Homeland Security shared an interview sheet with Fox News from Prince George’s County police’s Gang Unit MS-13 Intelligence Squad that identified Abrego Garcia as an active member of MS-13’s “Westerns” clique in 2019, according to a “past proven and reliable source.” The source said he held the rank of “Chequeo” and the moniker of “Chele.” He was marked eligible for deportation in 2019 after he claimed that he illegally entered the U.S. near McAllen, Texas, on or about March 25, 2012, after he “walked across the desert for many days,” according to a 2019 DHS interview document shared with Fox News. Van Hollen is not the only Democrat lawmaker seeking to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador with the goal of bringing him back to the U.S. after the Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court’s decision ordering his return. The court required the “government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” The Trump administration agreed to clear any administrative obstacles keeping Abrego Garcia from returning to the U.S., but Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that returning him is “up to El Salvador. If they want to return him. That’s not up to us.” Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
In historic first, Texas House approves private school voucher program
The bill would let families use taxpayer dollars for their children’s private schooling. Lawmakers also signed off on a sweeping $7.7 billion package to boost public school funding.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,148
These are the key events on day 1,148 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here is where things stand on Thursday, 17 April: Fighting A Russian drone attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa overnight injured three people, sparked fires and damaged homes and civilian infrastructure, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its units destroyed 26 Ukrainian drones overnight. Nine of the drones were shot down over the southern Voronezh region, while eight were taken down over the border region of Belgorod. The remaining drones were downed over the Kursk, Lipetsk and Moscow regions, as well as over the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, the ministry said. The Defence Ministry also said Russia has taken control of Kalynove village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Moscow’s military further reported that it repelled seven Ukrainian drones over Russia’s Ivanovo region, the location of one of two Russian missile units that Kyiv accuses of launching a deadly attack on the city of Sumy which caused dozens of casualties last weekend. Kyiv’s air force said Russia launched almost 100 drones in overnight attacks on Ukraine, of which 57 were shot down and another 34 failed to reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare measures. Advertisement Russian glide bombs and artillery struck the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding nine others, in what Ukrainian officials described as a timed “double-tap strike”. The region’s head, Oleksandr Prokudin, said it was a “deliberate tactic by Russia” to prevent rescuing victims and to harm medics, rescuers and police officers who rushed to the scene of the first attack only to then be caught in the second strike. A Russian mass drone attack killed two people and injured 16 in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said. Five of the injured were hospitalised. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it detained nine people, including five teenagers, with more than 30kg (66 pounds) of explosives on suspicion of preparing sabotage attacks on behalf of Russia. Attacks on energy facilities Russia’s Defence Ministry said Ukraine carried out six attacks on Kremlin energy infrastructure despite a mutually agreed 30-day moratorium on energy strikes. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, told a news briefing that Russia carried out more than 30 attacks on its energy infrastructure since the two sides agreed in March to pause strikes on such targets. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would announce when the US-brokered moratorium on energy strikes would end. Politics and diplomacy United States President Donald Trump’s administration has reduced its estimate for the cost of US assistance provided to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion to about $100bn from $300bn, Bloomberg news reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The US and Ukraine have made “substantial progress” in their talks on a minerals deal and will soon sign a memorandum, which would give Washington access to Ukraine’s rare earth deposits, Kyiv’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. Advertisement Kyiv’s parliament voted to extend martial law in Ukraine until 6 August. The decision was supported by an overwhelming 357 deputies, while one politician voted against the bill. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will discuss Ukraine among other issues during the emir’s visit to Moscow on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said. The former governor of Russia’s Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Adblock test (Why?)
Big update on Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train: India to get E5, E3 Shinkansen trains by early 2026 free from…
India’s high-speed rail plans are poised to accelerate with Japan’s generous offer of Shinkansen technology. Japan is gifting high-speed Shinkansen trains to India for free, which will be used for testing and inspection on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The E5 and E3 series trains from East Japan Railway boast cutting-edge aerodynamic designs and advanced safety features.
Trump touts ‘progress’ in Japan trade talks, as uncertainty roils stocks
Wall Street closes sharply lower as US Federal Reserve chair warns tariffs could lead to slower growth, higher inflation. United States President Donald Trump has touted “big progress” in trade talks with Japan after making an unexpected intervention in the negotiations, as uncertainty caused by his sweeping tariffs continues to roil stock markets. Trump made his comments on Wednesday after making the surprise decision to sit in on negotiations between his administration and Japanese officials in Washington, DC. “A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the talks, which included US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa. Akazawa said after the meeting that Trump wanted to reach a deal before the end of his 90-day pause on his “reciprocal” tariffs, with the Japanese hoping to see the agreement sealed “as soon as possible.” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the negotiations would not be easy, but the initial rounds of talks had “created a foundation for the next steps”. Advertisement Like dozens of other US trade partners, Japan has been hit with a 10 percent baseline tariff in addition to duties of 25 percent on cars, steel and aluminium, which rank among the East Asian country’s top exports. Japan, a top US security ally and its fourth-largest trade partner, is also facing a targeted 24 percent “reciprocal” tariff under Trump’s “liberation day” trade measures, nearly all of which have been paused until July 9. “Japan’s industry is so closely integrated in the US economy that everyone is very concerned about the trade talks,” Martin Schulz, chief policy economist at Fujitsu in Tokyo, told Al Jazeera. “Although there cannot be winners in a trade war, we are also quite optimistic that agreeable results can be achieved. Japan is the largest investor in the US and interested in investing more.” “If both economies can be kept on a growth track, higher imports from the US become possible,” Schulz added. The US-Japanese talks came as Wall Street racked up further heavy losses amid continuing uncertainty over Trump’s trade salvoes. The benchmark S&P 500 closed 2.24 percent lower on Wednesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 3.07 percent. The losses followed a warning by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that Trump’s steep tariffs could leave the US economy grappling with weak growth, rising unemployment and higher inflation all at once. “We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension,” Powell said in a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday, referring to the US central bank’s twin goals of maximum employment and stable prices. Advertisement “If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close.” US stocks have been on a rollercoaster ride since Trump’s inauguration in January, alternating between sharp dips and big jumps amid his back-and-forth tariff announcements. Financial markets and businesses have been on tenterhooks waiting for signs that the US president is open to watering down or scrapping many of his tariffs in exchange for concessions from US trading partners. Trump administration officials have said that more than 75 countries have reached out to begin negotiations on trade. After the latest losses on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are down about 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively, since the start of the year. Asian stock markets got off to a better start on Thursday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, South Korea’s KOSPI and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index each rising more than 0.5 percent in early trading. Adblock test (Why?)
Harvard under fire as DHS secretary cuts $2.7M in grants, demands visa records: ‘America demands more’
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem canceled $2.7 million in DHS grants to Harvard University on Wednesday. In a statement, Noem announced the cancelation of two grants for the university, and declared the elite Massachusetts Ivy League institution “unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars.” The university has been ordered to submit records by April 30, or risk losing its certification to enroll international students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). “With anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard’s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory,” Noem said in the statement. “America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.” TRUMP ADMIN ASKS IRS TO REVOKE HARVARD’S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS The canceled grants include an $800,303 “Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention” award, which DHS says classified conservatives as far-right extremists, and a $1,934,902 “Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement” grant, which funded public health messaging that Noem’s office described as ideologically skewed. The move follows President Donald Trump‘s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard and ask for the IRS to revoke its tax-exempt status. The IRS is currently reviewing the university’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation, according to sources within the Department of Justice (DOJ). A final decision has not yet been made. In a social media post, Trump criticized Harvard’s leadership and faculty, writing, “Harvard has been hiring almost all woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’ who are only capable of teaching FAILURE to students and so-called ‘future leaders.’” He continued, “Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.” STEFANIK SHREDS HARVARD OVER ‘COMPLETE MORAL FAILURE’ AFTER ALLOWING CLAUDINE GAY TO REMAIN PRESIDENT The DHS action comes amid a broader federal crackdown on campus antisemitism following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. In the months since, Harvard has faced criticism over antisemitic rhetoric and protests involving students and faculty. Noem’s letter references “foreign visa-holding rioters” and calls for Harvard to provide documentation of their conduct. With a $53.2 billion endowment, Harvard is one of the wealthiest institutions in the world. DHS emphasized that the university can afford to fund its own programs and should not rely on taxpayer money if it is not meeting federal standards for student conduct and institutional accountability. Harvard has not yet publicly responded to the termination of the grants or the DHS demand for records. The Department of Education is also scrutinizing the university. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon recently launched a review of more than $255.6 million in federal contracts and nearly $9 billion in grants involving Harvard and its affiliates. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy,” McMahon said. This move comes shortly after similar action was taken against Columbia University, as the federal government steps up enforcement on institutions it says are failing to meet civil rights and national security obligations. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Noem’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
Good Friday 2025: Will banks remain open or closed on April 18? Check details here
Good Friday, a major Christian, will fall on Friday (April 18) this year. Many are confused whether banks will remain open or closed on the occasion. You can check details regarding this here.
Trump hosts faith leaders for Easter prayer dinner, slams effort to rid America of Christian principles
President Donald Trump participated in a Wednesday evening prayer service and dinner as part of a series of Holy Week events ahead of Easter Sunday this weekend. Faith leaders of various Christian denominations were present and listened to the president address them about the importance of faith, both in governing and in people’s personal lives. Trump also took the moment to tout his recent accomplishments in-line with Christian beliefs, and slammed efforts to move the country away from its Christian foundation. “This is really — I hope — going to be one of the great Easters ever, because we have something going that I don’t think this country has seen in 100 years. And as we gather with family and friends, we’ll not forget the true source of our joy and our strength: America has put our trust in God,” Trump said during his address to attendees. “It will always be ‘In God We Trust.’ We will never change that.” INSIDE DONALD TRUMP’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, IN HIS OWN WORDS: ‘I WAS SAVED’ “You know there’s a movement to change it,” Trump continued. “It won’t happen. We won’t let that happen. Can you imagine a movement to change that?” Trump also slammed former administrations for failing to stand up for persecuted Christians around the globe, reassuring the crowd of faith leaders in attendance that things would be different under his administration. “We had nobody fighting for our Christians in other parts of the world, that were being so incredibly destroyed, killed, injured, hurt. But they died, so many died. You wouldn’t think that could happen in this time — in this modern time,” Trump said. Trump also remarked about the anti-Christian bias exhibited in the U.S., pointing out to those in attendance that he established a Justice Department task force to root it out. Trump also touted his creation of the White House Faith Office, which replaced the former White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. TECH COMPANY REVERSES POLICY AFTER CHRISTIAN GROUP SUES FOR RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION “You don’t hear about that very much, but there is anti-Christian bias,” Trump said. Trump will continue his Holy Week celebrations with another prayer service tomorrow, on Holy Thursday, which will again include various faith leaders from different Christian denominations and members of the president’s staff. The event will include Christian hymns sung by musicians associated with Liberty University, a private Christian university in Virginia. The White House is also reportedly hosting a Passover event Thursday afternoon, to celebrate the Jewish holiday that began April 12 and ends April 20. “With God’s help we can overcome every challenge, triumph over every evil, and restore the spirit of faith in the United States for generations to come,” Trump concluded. “We have a very simple slogan: ‘Make America Great Again,’ and that’s exactly what we’re doing.” TRUMP CHAMPIONS JESUS’ ‘MIRACULOUS RESURRECTION’ IN PALM SUNDAY MESSAGE VOWING TO ‘DEFEND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH’ In addition to faith leaders, Patty Morin, whose daughter’s death at the hands of an illegal immigrant in 2023 was a major point of contention during the last election, was also present at the Wednesday dinner service. She attended following an emotional press briefing earlier in the day at the White House during which she told her daughter’s story. “Her daughter’s looking down on Patty today,” Trump noted during the event, adding she’s “been through hell.”
US envoy says fighting in Gaza would ‘end immediately’ if captives released
Adam Boehler tells Al Jazeera ‘nothing goes forward’ on ceasefire deal until release, as Israel’s assault continues. Washington, DC – Israeli attacks on Gaza will end if Hamas releases all remaining captives, US President Donald Trump’s top hostage envoy said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “I can tell you that the fighting would end immediately, immediately if hostages are released,” said Adam Boehler, US special envoy for hostage response. “The day that those hostages are released, the fighting will end.” Boehler’s comments on Wednesday came as the death toll from Israel’s offensive in Gaza reached 51,025, with at least 1,652 Palestinians killed since Israel’s attacks resumed after an earlier ceasefire brokered by Trump’s administration ended in March. Despite Israel’s ongoing assault on the enclave, Boehler said the ball was in Hamas’s court. “They can reach out any time,” he said from the White House lawn. “Hamas can end this.” Boehler added that Trump has been clear that “nothing goes forward until all hostages are released”. “Step one is all hostages released,” Boehler said. “Step two is, let’s figure out this day after.” Advertisement He did not elaborate on what that “day after” would look like, only referring briefly to Trump’s suggestion of mass displacing Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries. Hamas has said it will only release more captives if a new agreement to end the fighting is reached first. Such an agreement would need to include guarantees that have so far proven non-starters, including a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Under the previous six-week ceasefire agreement, Hamas released a total of 33 captives held in Gaza in exchange for an increase in humanitarian aid into the enclave and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. A second phase, agreed to in principle, was meant to see the release of all remaining captives held in Gaza in exchange for a permanent end to fighting. A third phase was meant to see the release of all the bodies of captives and the implementation of a reconstruction plan. But negotiations broke down following the completion of the first phase of the agreement, with Israel immediately renewing attacks. Beyond those killed, the United Nations has said at least 500,000 Palestinians have been newly displaced in the latest round of fighting. Earlier this week, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had completed creating a “security zone” between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. He added that the Israeli military would “vigorously” expand its operation in Gaza. Israel has estimated that 24 living captives remain in Gaza, all believed to be male soldiers. The bodies of 35 other captives are also believed to still be in the Palestinian enclave. Advertisement Edan Alexander Boehler, who held direct talks with Hamas officials in March, spoke to Al Jazeera after Hamas rejected a new Israeli ceasefire proposal calling for the group to fully disarm the day before. Hamas also claimed on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the group holding Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander after “direct Israeli bombardment” targeted the area where he was being held. Boehler dismissed the claim, saying he was certain Alexander was in a safe place and that Hamas would be “stupid” to harm him. If anything were to happen to Alexander, it’s “not going to be pretty”, he added, without elaborating. Adblock test (Why?)
As Trump threatens tariffs, Vietnam scrambles to avert economic disaster
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Kieu Quoc Thanh, the CEO of cashew export business SVC Group, says that everyone in his industry has been “feeling crazy” for the past two weeks. Since United States President Donald Trump announced his since-paused “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2, Thanh has witnessed mass confusion among Vietnamese exporters. Many businesses reliant on the US market are checking online hourly for updates on the tariffs, Thanh says, while he has a shipping container full of cashews bound for the US market currently sitting in limbo. Since Trump announced a 90-day pause on Vietnam’s 46 percent tariff and duties on dozens of other countries, the US has imposed a baseline 10 percent levy on imports from all countries, including Vietnam. But Thanh’s customers in the US and customs officers alike are uncertain how much to tax his products, he says. “No one knows what’s happening,” Thanh told Al Jazeera at his Ho Chi Minh City office last week. A man stands outside Phuc Long Port in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 10, 2025 [Govi Snell/Al Jazeera] While businesses such as Thanh’s navigate the disruption, Hanoi and Washington are in discussions about a trade deal after agreeing to begin negotiations on April 10. Advertisement For Vietnam, one of the world’s most export-reliant economies, the stakes could scarcely be higher. The US is the Southeast Asian country’s biggest export market, with shipments to it alone last year accounting for 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). While Trump’s tariff pause led to some hope in Vietnam, the country is on tenterhooks about what might happen next, said Tyler Manh Dung Nguyen, chief market strategist at equity firm Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation. “We are having a period of extreme uncertainty, not only for the financial market, but also for businesses,” Nguyen told Al Jazeera. “It’s like a reality show,” Nguyen added. “Everything changes every day.” Trump’s trade salvoes have drawn sharp contrast with the decades-long process of warming relations between Washington and Hanoi, culminating in the former enemies upgrading their ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2023. For Eddie Thai, a Vietnamese American who co-founded the Ho Chi Minh City-based venture capital firm Ascend Vietnam Ventures, it has been disheartening to see relations come under strain, particularly ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30. “I don’t think it has thrown us back 50 years, I wouldn’t say that far, but it is burning a lot of goodwill that a lot of people on both sides of the ocean have been trying to build since the 90s,” Thai told Al Jazeera, calling Trump’s dealing with Vietnam destructive and personally “disappointing as an American”. Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he boards his plane at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on April 15, 2025 [Athit Perawongmetha/ Pool via AFP] With the US and Vietnam looking towards a trade deal, China, Hanoi’s biggest source of imports and its second-largest export destination, has loomed large over the negotiations. Advertisement On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi as part of a five-day tour of Southeast Asia, a trip widely seen as an effort to cast China as a more reliable trading partner for the region than the US. Upon his arrival, Xi was greeted at the airport by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, and later received a 21-gun salute at Hanoi’s Presidential Palace. Reacting to the warm reception for the Chinese leader, Trump suggested the countries would use their talks to scheme against the US. “That’s a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, ‘How do we screw the United States of America?’” Trump told reporters at the White House. According to Chinese state news outlet Xinhua, Xi urged Vietnam to resist “unilateral bullying” and stated that “China’s mega market is always open to Vietnam”. During Xi’s visit, the countries signed 45 agreements, Chinese and Vietnamese media reported, without providing details of the deals. With the US and China slapping each other’s goods with tariffs exceeding 100 percent, Vietnam has become the “diplomatic guy in the middle,” said Nguyen, the strategist at Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation. “[Hanoi] always tries to be neutral in every situation,” Nguyen said. “We do not side with one country to fight another country.” US trade deficit Trump’s tariffs have also raised the ire of foreign businesses based in Vietnam. It would be an impossible task for Vietnam to erase its trade deficit with the US – the third-highest in 2024 at $123.5bn – given the differences between the two economies, said Bruno Jaspaert, general director of DEEP C Industrial Zones in the northern port town of Haiphong. Advertisement “Any country like Vietnam, in reality, has no leverage against the States,” Jaspaert, who is also head of EuroCham Vietnam, told Al Jazeera. “That stupid formula of theirs can never ever be balanced because it will take decades before Vietnam can buy enough,” Jaspaert said, referring to the controversial calculations used by the Trump administration to come up with its “reciprocal” tariff rates. Facing the threat of a huge economic blow, Hanoi has put considerable effort into getting into the good graces of the Trump administration. The government has pledged to buy more Boeing planes and liquefied natural gas, and opened talks on purchasing C-130 cargo planes from Lockheed Martin. Last month, officials agreed to allow Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service to operate in the country on a trial basis. Vietnam has also signed deals with the Trump Organization. Shortly before Trump’s re-election, his holding company agreed to invest $1.5bn in a golf course and hotel project in Communist Party chief To Lam’s home province of Hung Yen. Commuters sit in traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam [Govi Snell/Al Jazeera] “I believe that the leadership in Hanoi – they have done a lot to secure a more lenient approach,” Nguyen Khac Giang, visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told