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    Trump Puts China On Notice With First Wave Of Tariffs

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    By Dan Scavino - https://twitter.com/Scavino45/status/1069069893549490176, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80055244

    President Donald Trump announced he is planning a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports on Feb. 1 over the country’s role in fentanyl trafficking. 

    “We’re talking about a tariff of 10% on China, based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at.” 

    When asked about a conversation he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his inauguration this week, Trump added that “We didn’t talk too much about tariffs other than he knows where I stand.” 

    During his campaign, Trump threatened tariffs as high as 60 percent on goods from China. He recently pledged on Truth Social to create an “External Revenue Service” to “collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.” 

    At a press briefing Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that “We always believe that there is no winner in a trade war or tariff war,” according to Reuters. 

    In late November, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that he would implement such tariffs on Jan. 20 as one of his first Executive Orders and that the tariffs “will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” 

    Those promised tariffs haven’t gone into effect yet, but on Monday, Trump did sign an executive order titled “America First Trade Policy.” 

    “The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Trade Representative, shall investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods, as well as the economic and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits,” the order says. 

    “The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall investigate the feasibility of establishing and recommend the best methods for designing, building, and implementing an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues,” it adds. 

    On Wednesday, President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post said he will institute tariffs on Russia if the yearslong invasion of Ukraine doesn’t come to an end.

    Read Trump’s lengthy statement below:

    I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX,” he said, referring to allegations from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and others that he colluded with Moscow to defeat Hillary Clinton.

    “We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump wrote.

    “If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with.”

    ‘We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”

    Trump Pauses Tariffs For One Month After Talks With Mexico

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    1
    Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

    Mexico‘s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has announced a temporary suspension of tariffs for one month following a productive conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. The move comes as part of a broader effort to address critical security and economic concerns between the neighboring countries.

    As part of the agreement, Mexico will deploy 10,000 troops to bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border. In return, the U.S. has pledged to ramp up efforts to curb firearm trafficking into Mexico, a persistent issue fueling cartel violence.

    CNBC repots:

    Sheinbaum also said in a tweet, that after speaking with Trump, Mexico “will immediately reinforce” its northern border with the U.S. with 10,000 National Guard soldiers “to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.”

    “We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements,” Sheinbaum wrote in the tweet, according to a translation from Spanish.

    “The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico,” she wrote.

    The announcement underscores the ongoing collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. on border security and trade, particularly as both nations navigate shifting political landscapes.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Trump Accuses Former House Speaker Of Making ‘Dumbest’ Choice In Years

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    President-elect Donald Trump blindsided former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday calling the debt ceiling suspension approved in 2023 as “one of the dumbest political decisions made in years.”

    However, while targeting the former top House GOP lawmaker, Trump leveled the criticism by describing McCarthy as a friend and a good person.

    “The extension of the Debt Ceiling by a previous Speaker of the House, a good man and a friend of mine, from this past September of the Biden Administration, to June of the Trump Administration, will go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years. There was no reason to do it – NOTHING WAS GAINED, and we got nothing for it – A major reason why that Speakership was lost. It was Biden’s problem, not ours. Now it becomes ours,” Trump declared in the post. 

    “I call it ‘1929’ because the Democrats don’t care what our Country may be forced into. In fact, they would prefer ‘Depression’ as long as it hurt the Republican Party. The Democrats must be forced to take a vote on this treacherous issue NOW, during the Biden Administration, and not in June. They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!” he added.

    A deal passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year suspended the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025, but Trump has been calling for the ceiling to be increased before he takes office. 

    “In June 2023, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 was enacted, suspending the debt limit through January 1, 2025.  On January 2, 2025, the new debt limit will be established at the amount of outstanding debt subject to the statutory limit at the end of the previous day,” Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen wrote in a recent letter to congressional leaders. “Treasury currently expects to reach the new limit between January 14 and January 23, at which time it will be necessary for Treasury to start taking extraordinary measures. I respectfully urge Congress to act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”

    Responding to Trump’s post about McCarthy, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote in a post on X, “Sadly, this bad debt ceiling extension was opposed by only 71 House Republicans 18 months ago (notably opposed by virtually the entire @freedomcaucus).”

    “Democrats did vote on the recent debt ceiling increase proposal on 12/19: 197-2 against it (their price to support is very high – more spending/taxes),” Roy added. “Yes, we can & should address the debt ceiling – thru reconciliation in January with mostly GOP votes – but with real, meaningful spending cuts.”

    Trump Holds ‘Productive’ Call With New Canadian Prime Minister

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    President Donald Trump said he held an “extremely productive call” with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. 

    “I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. 

    It was the first time the two leaders have spoken.

    On Thursday, Carney said the “old relationship” with the U.S. “is over” while vowing to engage in a renegotiation over a trade agreement.  

    Carney, 60, won the Liberal leadership this month with 86% of the vote after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down.

    In an address to reporters in Ottawa on Thursday, Carney offered a blunt rebuke to the Trump administration as it prepares to slap a 25 percent tariff on foreign car imports — a move the prime minister said won’t go unanswered.

    “The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military co-operations, is over,” Carney said.

    He continued: “What exactly the United States does next is unclear. But what is clear is that we, as Canadians, have agency. We have power. We are masters in our own home. We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away.”

    He added: “We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home. It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labour, from Canadians. We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere. And we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

    Carney vowed a “broad renegotiation” of Canada’s trade and security ties with the U.S., marking a sharp departure from the conventional diplomacy that has long defined cross-border relations.

    “We will fight back with everything we have to get the best deal for Canada. We will build an independent future for our country, stronger than ever,” Carney said, promising “retaliatory trade actions” designed for “maximum impact in the US and minimum impacts in Canada.”

    Musk Mulls ‘DOGE Dividend’ Checks For Americans

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Image via Pixabay free images

    Could Americans be in for a payday?

    Elon Musk expressed interest in a proposal to use savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to give taxpayers a “DOGE dividend” payment.

    X user James Fishback wrote a post that tagged Musk and outlined his plan to take 20% of the savings found by DOGE to send it back “to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place!”

    Fishback noted that if DOGE achieves its goal of cutting $2 trillion in federal spending, that would provide the 78 million taxpaying households in the U.S. with about a $5,000 refund or “DOGE dividend” per household, with the remainder used to pay down the national debt.

    “Will check with the President,” Musk replied in response to Fishback’s post.

    Although DOGE has set a high-end goal of $2 trillion in savings, Musk has suggested that $1 trillion in savings would be a success and explained that goal in an appearance with President Donald Trump on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Tuesday night.

    “The overall goal is to try to get a trillion dollars out of the deficit,” Musk said. “If the deficit is not brought under control, America will go bankrupt.” 

    “This is a very important thing for people to understand. A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt. And so can a country,” he said. “And the massive waste, fraud and abuse that has been going on, which is leading to a $2 trillion a year deficit.”

    DOGE claims an estimated $55 billion in savings achieved to date from canceling certain federal leases and contracts, asset sales, fraud deletion, regulatory savings and workforce reductions.

    Musk wrote in a post on Wednesday, “We need to balance the budget as first priority,” in a response to a post by Scott Adams that raised concerns the DOGE dividend could result in the government using the DOGE savings as a “piggy bank.”

    © Great America News Desk 2022