Judge orders Trump administration to return Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador prison
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately make arrangements for the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said that Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been illegally deported to El Salvador and said he must be returned by Monday before midnight. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Dem senator looks to hijack key Trump budget process with tariff challenge
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Jacky Rosen plans to introduce amendments ahead of Friday night’s “Vote-A-Rama” that would roll back President Donald Trump’s tariffs on certain materials on key tourism partners, likely forcing her Republican colleagues to go on record defending the policy again. “President Trump broke his promise to lower costs, and has enacted reckless tariffs that are jacking up prices even higher for hardworking Nevada families and harming my state’s tourism economy,” Rosen, D-Nev., told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “Donald Trump may not care if his tariffs raise prices, but I do, and that’s why I’m trying to stop his new national sales tax. Every senator should be on the record: Do you stand with America’s working families who need financial relief, or do you stand with Trump in giving his billionaire buddies even more tax giveaways?” REPUBLICANS CHARGE AHEAD ON TRUMP BUDGET, SETTING UP MARATHON SENATE VOTES The Nevada Democrat’s amendments include one to stop the administration from levying tariffs on critical construction materials for building houses, and one that would bar Trump from putting across-the-board tariffs on countries with many who visit the U.S. “I’ve already heard from Nevadans and Nevada business owners who are worried about how these new tariffs will impact their businesses and livelihoods, including the founder of a small business in Reno. They wrote to me saying, quote, ‘We maintain a small production facility in Reno . . . these duties will force us to raise retail prices by 37 percent, and we don’t believe our customers will accept that. This policy could wipe us out entirely,’” Rosen said during her debate time on the floor on Friday. TED CRUZ CLASHES WITH KEY DEMOCRAT OVER ‘SECOND PHASE OF LAWFARE’ THROUGH FEDERAL JUDGES’ ORDERS “They go on to say, quote, ‘I’m not asking for a favor. I’m asking for leadership that reflects the urgency and reality we face. These tariffs do not bring jobs back. They raise prices, punish small businesses, and put livelihoods at risk, all while making it harder for companies like mine to do what we’ve done for 13 years: create jobs, innovate, and support our families,’” she went on. On Thursday, Republicans agreed to a motion that kicked off roughly a day’s worth of debate, before the “vote-a-rama” begins. A marathon of amendment votes is now expected to take place at some point on Friday after the debate ends. GOP DEFECTORS HELP SENATE ADVANCE RESOLUTION TO CANCEL TRUMP TARIFFS DESPITE WHITE HOUSE VETO WARNING During this process, senators can introduce an unlimited number of amendments, and many are expected to get floor votes. The “vote-a-rama” marks movement on Trump’s budget for border funding and extending his hallmark 2017 tax cuts, which Republicans in Congress have long been pursuing. This week, the Senate released its changes to the House’s budget reconciliation resolution, taking a big step forward. SENATE DEMS FORESHADOW MORE FORCED VOTES TO BLOCK TRUMP’S EMERGENCY ORDERS This amendment to the resolution will get a Senate vote at the end of the “vote-a-rama.” The expected budget vote comes after months of disagreement between Republicans in the House and Senate, the former of which sought a reconciliation bill to tackle both the border and taxes, while many in the Senate wanted to split it into two bills. Ultimately, House Republicans got what they wanted in a one-bill approach, which Trump blessed.
Trump’s China tariffs face legal challenge from conservative group calling them ‘unlawful’
A conservative legal group is challenging President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on China, calling them “an unlawful attempt” to make Americans pay higher taxes on Chinese imports. The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed an initial complaint in Florida district court Thursday, challenging Trump’s “unlawful use of emergency power to impose a tariff on all imports from China.” “By invoking emergency power to impose an across-the-board tariff on imports from China that the statute does not authorize, President Trump has misused that power, usurped Congress’s right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Andrew Morris, senior litigation counsel at NCLA, said in a statement released. SOME COUNTRIES TARGETED BY TRUMP TARIFFS SEEK NEGOTIATIONS, CHINA SAYS ‘NO WINNERS IN TRADE WARS’ Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 1 titled “Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China,” and amended it on Mar. 3 to raise tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 20%. Plaintiff Emily Ley, owner of Simplified, a Pensacola, Florida-based company, argues Trump’s invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the tariffs is unlawful. The plaintiff also argues that her business will be harmed as a result of Trump’s action. “The key thing for all of this is that IEEPA does not provide for the tariff power, and you know that because when Congress does do it, they use the word, and they say how the president is supposed to do it,” John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel at NCLA, told Fox News Digital. Vecchione notes that the complaint delineates the various statutes Trump used in his first term to impose tariffs, saying that in this instance, he is “using the wrong statute.” “Here, [Trump] declares an emergency, and then he says that his tariffs fit the emergency, that they’re necessary for the emergency,” Vecchione said. “IEEPA requires that they be necessary for the emergency, and they’re not.” TRUMP TOUTS RETURN OF THE ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ IN HISTORIC TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT The plaintiff argues that the law permits the president to “order sanctions as a rapid response to international emergencies,” but does not authorize him to “impose tariffs on the American people.” “President Trump’s executive orders imposing a China tariff are, therefore, ultra vires and unconstitutional,” the complaint states. If the president is granted such authority, the group argues, he would have “nearly unlimited authority to commandeer Congress’s power over tariffs.” “He would be empowered to declare a national emergency based on some long-running national problem,” the complaint continues, “then impose tariffs purportedly in the name of that emergency – thus sidestepping the detailed constraints Congress has placed on the tariff authority it has granted.” NCLA is asking the court to block the administration from implementing or enforcing the executive orders and to vacate “all resulting modifications” to the tariff schedule. In response to the lawsuit, White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields defended the executive orders, telling Fox News Digital, “President Trump has broad authority to impose tariffs to address issues of national emergency, such as the opioid pandemic. The Trump administration looks forward to victory in court.” The suit comes just days after the president unveiled his tariff plan during a speech in the White House Rose Garden at a highly anticipated “Make America Wealthy Again” event. “Now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt,” Trump said on April 2. “And it will all happen very quickly. With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before.” HOW WE GOT TO LIBERATION DAY: A LOOK AT TRUMP’S PAST COMMENTS ON TARIFFS Trump was joined by several Cabinet members in the Rose Garden on Thursday for his first official presidential event since taking office in January. During the speech, Trump announced that China would be hit with a 34% tariff. In response, China declared retaliatory measures on Friday, saying it would impose matching 34% tariffs on U.S. goods. The new tariffs are set to take effect April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal. “China played it wrong, they panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
Trump DOJ, Education Dept form task force to protect female athletes from ‘gender ideology’ in schools, sports
The Trump administration launched a new investigative unit to protect “female athletes, from the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities” on Friday, further clamping down on transgender women in school sports and sending a warning signal to states defying the president’s executive orders. The Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the Title IX Special Investigations Team (SIT) to handle cases, particularly targeting transgender women in sports, because “traditionally, our Office for Civil Rights [OCR] takes months, even years, to complete Title IX investigations,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Friday. “OCR under this Administration has moved faster than it ever has, and the Title IX SIT will ensure even more rapid and consistent investigations,” McMahon said. “To all the entities that continue to allow men to compete in women’s sports and use women’s intimate facilities: there’s a new sheriff in town. We will not allow you to get away with denying women’s civil rights any longer.” CONCERNED PARENTS OF TRANS KIDS COMPARED TO ‘HATE GROUPS’ BY COLORADO DEM: WOULDN’T ‘ASK THE KKK’ FOR OPINION The team, drawn from both agencies, will implement a rapid process to handle the growing number of cases to hand over investigations to potential DOJ enforcement. McMahon said the Title IX unit “will benefit women and girls across this nation who have been subjected to discrimination and indignity in their educational activities.” “Protecting women and women’s sports is a key priority for this Department of Justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. “This collaborative effort with the Department of Education will enable our attorneys to take comprehensive action when women’s sports or spaces are threatened and use the full power of the law to remedy any violation of women’s civil rights.” The unit comprises investigators and attorneys from the OCR, DOE Office of General Counsel, and the DOE Office of Student Privacy and Protection, along with caseworkers and an FSA Enforcement investigator. The unit also includes attorneys from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE The investigative unit will enforce Title IX protections with President Donald Trump’s executive orders on “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” and “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism.” The unit comes as Trump has been facing pushback from both lawmakers and judges for his gender-related orders. Trump and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills sparred in February over Trump’s order banning biological males from women’s sports. During a National Governors Association meeting, Trump accused Mills of defying federal orders by continuing to allow transgender women to compete in women’s sports. Following the confrontation, the Trump administration launched investigations into Maine’s education department. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also froze funds to certain educational programs in Maine due to the state’s rebellion. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins indicated the funding freeze could be lifted if Maine aligns with federal interpretations of Title IX. BAN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGES FOR PRISONERS SPARKS DEM WALKOUT IN GEORGIA HOUSE VOTE Trump’s Title IX unit comes after the Biden administration updated Title IX regulations in 2021 and 2022 to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students, interpreting the law’s prohibition on sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Under then-President Joe Biden’s interpretation, transgender students were protected in sports, bathrooms, changing room facilities and in other educational programs.
Trump shakes up NSA leadership, appoints new acting director and deputy to replace Biden appointees
President Donald Trump has fired the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), a high-level move driven by mounting pressure from conservative allies to purge officials they view as insufficiently loyal to the president’s “America First” agenda. Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh and civilian Deputy Wendy Noble were let go from their roles as director and deputy director of the NSA. Lt. Gen. William Hartman, who also leads U.S. Cyber Command, will serve as acting director, while Sheila Thomas will take over as deputy. Hartman previously commanded the Cyber National Mission Force and has served in intelligence, cyberspace operations and infantry roles during deployments around the world. Thomas most recently headed NSA’s cryptologic partnership with the United Kingdom and served as director of engagement and policy at NSA. TRUMP CONFIRMS NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FIRINGS AS WALTZ’S SIGNAL CHAT WOES SNOWBALL The shake-up comes as some right-wing figures have turned against members of Trump’s national security team. Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer met with Trump this week to share her “research” on officials she believes should be fired. As Loomer pointed out on X, both Haugh and Noble were Biden appointees. She seemingly took credit for the firing, claiming Haugh had “no place” in the Trump administration because he was “hand-picked” by former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley. “Why would we want an NSA Director who was referred to Biden after being hand selected by Milley,” Ms. Loomer wrote. “Why would we want Milley’s hand picked choice for NSA DIRECTOR? We do not! And he was referred for firing.” NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY DIRECTOR GEN. HAUGH FIRED, CIVILIAN DEPUTY DIRECTOR REASSIGNED The White House and NSA did not respond when asked if Loomer had influenced the president’s decision. Trump also fired several National Security Council (NSC) staffers on Thursday, adding to national security adviser Mike Waltz’s recent woes after he accidentally included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal chat about Houthi strikes. “We’re going to let go of people we don’t like, or people we don’t think can do the job, or people who may have loyalties to somebody else,” Trump told reporters about the firings. He confirmed that NSC members had been fired, but remarked it was not many individuals. The NSA shuffle also came after Trump recently let go of C.Q. Brown, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former chief of naval operations. The White House has insisted Waltz’s job is not under threat. “As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,” Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media in brief remarks outside the White House’s press room on Monday afternoon. “And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.”
Democrat Rep Jared Golden says his party’s moving in ‘wrong direction’ on trade
EXCLUSIVE: A key moderate Democrat is warning his party they are heading the “wrong” way on trade. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, was one of the few Democrats to express some optimism at President Donald Trump’s support for tariffs, specifically his move to add a 10% baseline duty to all U.S. imports. Golden noted in a brief interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday that he himself proposed legislation for a 10% universal tariff earlier this year and in the previous Congress. When asked how his stance on tariffs has been received by fellow House Democrats, Golden said, “Well, I think that they are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to trade.” TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT TELLS COUNTRIES NOT TO RETALIATE AFTER SWEEPING ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS “I think it’s been a knee-jerk reaction to the president,” the Maine Democrat explained of the more recent furor. He said the Democratic Party he joined in his “formative years” was “the party that was warning about things like the World Trade Organization or [the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)].” “It has kind of, I think, had a sudden movement in the opposite direction, and that’s unfortunate,” Golden said. “You’ve got to look beyond, you know, who the president is…to ask themselves what would be good for rural communities or working-class people, or cities like Detroit, whatever it may be – those who have been hit hardest by the existing trade regime.” He added, however, “I think that this debate has been brewing since the ’90s, so it’s not only about Trump.” Golden has been known to break from his own party on issues like trade, border security, and notably, former President Joe Biden’s student loan relief efforts. He won his seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District by less than 1% in 2024, while Trump carried the district by 10%. He said on Wednesday that he was “pleased” Trump’s tariff plan lined up with his own ideas for a universal tax on foreign goods. “I’m eager to work with the president to fix the broken ‘free trade’ system that made multinational corporations rich but ruined manufacturing communities across the country. But tariffs must be paired with policies that prioritize American families’ prosperity.” FRANCE ASKS US TO BE ‘COOPERATIVE’ INSTEAD OF ‘CONFRONTATIONAL’ FOLLOWING TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS He pointed out, however, that Trump “introduced a number of new tariff policies” alongside the 10% universal tax, and that he would need time to review the policies in detail before weighing in on them further. Trump’s plan involves a 10% blanket tariff on all imports into the U.S., as well as reciprocal tariffs as high as nearly 50% on both adversaries and allies. Golden added, “We need to make sure that the new approach benefits working people — that means supporting unions, the trades and apprenticeship programs, cutting regulations that hold back production, unleashing American energy and using tariff revenue to support domestic manufacturers that create good-paying jobs for Americans.” “Tariffs are a first step in rewriting a rigged trade system, but they cannot be the last one.”
Obama urges Americans to ‘possibly sacrifice’ in resisting Trump policies
Former President Barack Obama told a crowd Thursday night that some sacrifice might be necessary in order to resist President Donald Trump’s policies. Obama spoke at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday and accused the Trump administration of trying to destroy the post-World War II international order, according to the Washington Post. During the speech, Obama called Trump’s behavior “contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans” and called on students to do more in order to resist Trump’s policies. “It has been easy during most of our lifetimes to say you are a progressive, or say you are for social justice, or say you are for free speech, and not have to pay a price for it…And now we’re in one of those moments when…it’s not enough just to say you’re for something. You may actually have to do something and possibly sacrifice a little bit,” Obama said. JAMES CARVILLE BLAMES SECRETIVE DEMOCRATIC MANEUVERING FOR ‘SELF-ENGINEERED DEFEAT’ IN 2024 Obama also said law firms and universities need to take a more active role in resisting Trump, arguing there would be massive pushback if he tried to sanction law firms. “It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors,” Obama said. KAMALA HARRIS WAS ‘VERY ANNOYED’ WITH OBAMA AS SHE SOUGHT HIS ENDORSEMENT, BOOK REVEALS Obama said he is “deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.” “All of you have grown up in an international order that was created by America after World War II. … This is an important moment because in the last two months, the U.S. government has been trying to destroy that order,” Obama said. “Democracy is pretty recent in its vintage. An international order where you cooperate instead of fight is new. It’s fragile.” The Thursday night speech at Hamilton College was not recorded.
PHOTOS: Biden’s ‘ambitious climate goals’ go down in literal flames by popular American beach
A major part of a first-of-its-kind green energy project, which the Biden administration bragged about, is now lying in ruins and polluting some of America’s beautiful ocean and seashore in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Exclusive images obtained by Fox News Digital show the shattered remains of what is left of an ocean wind turbine constructed by Vineyard Wind in a green energy project touted by the Biden administration. The turbine was recently struck by lightning and destroyed just months after one of its blades dangerously fell into the Atlantic Ocean, dropping non-biodegradable fiberglass shards into the water, some of which washed ashore, forcing six Nantucket beaches to close. EX-BIDEN CAMPAIGN STAFFER SLAMS FORMER PRESIDENT’S TEAM FOR KNOWING HE WAS ‘NOT CAPABLE,’ FEELS ‘LIED TO’ The Cape Cod Times reported that the broken turbine was hit by lightning on Feb. 27 and “caught fire, and detached.” Today – just a few years after the Biden administration announced the project in 2021 – the turbine sits in ruins with its interior materials being exposed just about 14 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. In May 2021, the Biden-era Department of Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the Vineyard Wind project, which it said would be the first large-scale, offshore wind project in the United States. The administration touted the project as contributing to their green energy goals. Former President Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland called the project an “important step toward advancing the Administration’s goals to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation.” EX-BIDEN AIDE SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WAS ‘FATIGUED, BEFUDDLED, AND DISENGAGED’ PRIOR TO JUNE DEBATE: BOOK She said it was “one of many actions we are determined to take to open the doors of economic opportunity to more Americans.” Biden’s Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, “This project is an example of the investments we need to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and I’m proud to be part of the team leading the charge on offshore wind.” However, after the project went down in literal flames, local residents had much more choice words to say about the Biden administration’s “ambitious climate goals.” “Everybody wants a healthy planet, but when the ones advocating for a green planet are the ones damaging it, it makes you pause,” Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy, a Nantucket homeowner, told Fox News Digital after the blade detached and fell into the ocean. ‘RUINED BY NEGLIGENCE’: DAVE PORTNOY BLASTS NANTUCKET WIND FARM AFTER BROKEN BLADE SHUTS DOWN BEACHES Portnoy lamented those who paid good money only to be unable to visit the closed beaches. “Families save up for years to take a vacation to Nantucket only to have it ruined by negligence,” he said. Mary Chalke, another local resident, posted on X on Mar. 23 that she was continuing to find blade fiberglass debris washing ashore on a Nantucket beach on the south side of the island. The Vineyard Gazette reported that the broken blade had a manufacturing defect that was not caught during inspections and that there were 66 other blades in the project that could potentially have the same problem. The outlet reported that Vineyard Wind has been ordered to remove all the potentially defective blades. DEMS MUM ON TRUMP’S COURT FIGHTS DESPITE TRYING TO LIMIT BIDEN-BLOCKING JUDGES The outlet said that as of January, only one turbine of the 62 planned was running. A source familiar with the project said its catastrophic failure is a “shining example of how these failed green energy projects pose a hazard to the environment.” “It wasn’t by chance that this wind turbine was struck by lightning just months after it fell apart into the ocean,” the source said. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump paused new or renewed approvals, rights-of-way, permits, leases or loans for offshore wind projects pending a review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices. He also issued a memorandum temporarily withdrawing the Outer Continental Shelf from offshore wind leasing.
How we got to Liberation Day: A look at Trump’s past comments on tariffs
For decades, President Donald Trump has remained a staunch advocate for tariffs — routinely declaring the word one of the most beautiful in the dictionary and regularly accusing foreign countries of ripping off the U.S. Following through on 2024 campaign promises and building upon policies his first administration introduced, Trump unveiled a series of historic tariffs at the White House’s Rose Garden on Wednesday for a “Make America Wealthy Again” event as part of a day his administration dubbed “Liberation Day” for the U.S. While some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced concern over the policy, tariffs are an area where Trump’s views have remained incredibly consistent over the years, as he has routinely decried that other countries have treated the U.S. unfairly in trade deals. For example, Trump wrote in his 2011 book, “Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again!” that he backed a solid 20% tariff on all foreign items imported into the U.S. and singled out China as a high offender. “I want foreign countries to finally start forking over cash in order to have access to our markets,” Trump wrote in the book, according to an excerpt. “So here’s the deal: any foreign country shipping goods into the United States pays a 20 percent tax. If they want a piece of the American market, they’re going to pay for it. No more free admission into the biggest show in town — and that especially includes China.” HERE’S A CLOSER LOOK AT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DUTIES Trump also boasted about the benefits of tariffs during his campaign in the election for his first run at president, when he outlined his trade priorities during a June 2016 Pennsylvania speech. “Our original Constitution did not even have an income tax,” Trump said at the event. “Instead, it had tariffs emphasizing taxation of foreign, not domestic, production. Yet today, 240 years after the Revolution, we’ve turned things completely upside down. “We tax and regulate and restrict our companies to death, and then we allow foreign countries that cheat to export their goods to us tax-free,” Trump said. “How stupid is this? How could it happen? How stupid is this. As a result, we have become more dependent on foreign countries than ever before. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to declare our economic independence once again.” Following Trump’s victory in the 2016 election, Trump moved to impose a series of tariffs on countries and various products, including 25% duties on steel and 10% duties on aluminum from most countries, and others targeting China. In response to these tariffs, China issued its own retaliatory tariffs that cost the U.S. federal government billions of dollars in government aid to farmers who suffered financial losses due to the retaliation on their agricultural exports. Critiques of other countries’ trade practices have continued into Trump’s second administration, and he has routinely blamed them for allegedly engaging in unfair trade practices against the U.S. He also argues that tariffs will help return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. As a result, he and his administration have called for employing tariffs to address the nation’s 2024 record $1.2 trillion trade deficit. TRUMP TOUTS RETURN OF ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ IN HISTORIC TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said Wednesday. Earlier in 2025, the Trump administration imposed up to 25% tariffs on certain goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 20% tariff on shipments from China. The White House said that tariffs already imposed on Canada and Mexico will remain in place; however, new tariffs on China will be added on top of existing duties on Beijing. Tariffs function as a tax that governments collect on foreign goods and services that manufacturers import, and are collected while undergoing customs clearance in foreign ports, according to the International Trade Administration. The new tariff plan sets out a baseline duty of 10% on imports to the U.S., while customized tariffs are set for countries, like China, which have higher duties in place on American goods. “If you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House. The tariffs are slated to impact a variety of goods, including electronics like iPhones that are predominantly manufactured in China, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. They are also expected to hit goods like wine and other alcohols originating from European Union countries like Italy. Both parties in Congress have voiced opposition to the new tariffs and have warned that the tariffs will raise prices for American consumers. For countries considering implementing their own tariffs against U.S. products in retaliation, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a simple message: “Don’t.” “My advice to every country right now: Do not retaliate,” Bessent said in a Wednesday interview with Fox News Wednesday. “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.”
Rubio, in Europe, says US has to ‘reset the global order of trade’ and Trump is ‘absolutely right to do it’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed Friday that the U.S. has “to reset the global order of trade” and that President Donald Trump is “absolutely right to do it.” Rubio, speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels, made the remark after taking issue with a reporter’s claim that world economies are “crashing” in the wake of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. “We have to be a country to think we’re the largest consumer market in the world, and yet the only thing we export is services, and we need to stop that,” Rubio said. “We need to get back to a time where we are a country that can make things, and to do that, we have to reset the global order of trade.” “So the president rightly has concluded that the current status of global trade is bad for America and good for a bunch of other people. And he’s going to reset it, and he’s absolutely right to do it,” Rubio added. WORLD LEADERS REACT TO TRUMP’S SWEEPING TARIFFS: ‘TUMULTUOUS TIMES’ AHEAD The secretary of state said the “worst thing” the U.S. could do is leave the global trade system “the way it is forever.” “I mean, this is, just can’t continue. We can’t continue to be a country that doesn’t make things. We have to be able to make things to provide jobs for Americans… it’s that simple,” he added. “China, as an example. I mean, it’s outrageous. I mean, they don’t consume anything. All they do is export and flood and distort markets in addition to all the tariffs and barriers they put in place.” SENATE APPROVES RESOLUTION AGAINST TRUMP’S CANADA TARIFFS HOURS AFTER ‘LIBERATION DAY’ EVENT Rubio added “If you’re a company and you make a bunch of your products in China and all of a sudden shareholders or people that play the stock market realize that it’s going to cost a lot more to produce in China, your stock is going to go down, but ultimately the markets, as long as they know what the rules are going to be moving forward, and as long as you can sustain where you’re going to be, the markets will adjust.” “Businesses around the world, including in trade and global trade, they just need to know what the rules are. Once they know what the rules are, they will adjust to those rules,” he said. “So I don’t think it’s fair to say economies are crashing. Markets are crashing because markets are based on the stock value of companies who today are embedded in modes of production that are bad for the United States.”