Trump plans Putin meeting as soon as next week, NY Times reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the plan.
Trump then plans to meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on Wednesday.
The White House did not immediately respond to the report, but earlier on Wednesday Trump acknowledged that he spoke with European leaders after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's "highly productive" meeting with Putin in Russia.
While noting that "great progress" was made during the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come."
Trump, who promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine on "day one" during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Putin and has met with Zelenskyy since returning to the White House in January.
However, in recent weeks, he has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow over a lack of progress toward ending the three-year conflict.
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Conversely, Brazil stands to gain significantly. BYD has already begun constructing a $1 billion plant in Bahia for assembling passenger cars and electric trucks targeting South America. SAIC MG expanded its São Paulo factory, while GAC Motor is exploring Rio de Janeiro as an assembly location. Brazil's modest 4 percent tariff on electric-powertrain imports makes it increasingly attractive compared to the steep potential duties facing Mexico. Alberto de la Fuente, president of Mexico's National Auto Parts Industry, emphasized the economic impacts, noting that each additional tariff percentage erases roughly $150 in profit per compact EV, severely impacting competitiveness. This trend risks creating a divided Latin America, with Mexico retaining traditional combustion-engine manufacturing for North America, and Brazil emerging as the region's leading EV production base for Mercosur and African markets. 'It makes little sense for BYD to enter Mexico without tariff-free access to U.S. markets,' explained Gregor Sebastian, a senior analyst at Rhodium Group. 'Until trade uncertainties resolve, Chinese investments will likely favor Brazil and Southeast Asia.' The effects extend to the entire supply chain for electric vehicles and EV batteries. Sonora's lithium industry, which expected investments from major Chinese battery makers, may now default to raw exports to China, limiting regional value-added jobs. Initiatives such as Nuevo León's T-MEC rail line and Jalisco's dry port at Ocotlán, designed as EV export hubs, now face uncertain prospects. Mexican technical colleges that introduced EV-specific training programs risk oversupplying graduates in a shrinking local market. 'Once tariffs reach prohibitive levels, they transform corporate calculus,' noted Maaike Okano Heijmans from the Clingendael Institute, 'forcing companies to reconfigure global manufacturing footprints.' BYD's halted Mexican venture underscores the global trend of clean-tech supply chains fracturing along geopolitical fault lines. Asia-Pacific companies now navigate competing blocs. The United States and its allies are enforcing stringent industrial policies against Chinese components, while China-driven networks are being fostered by Belt and Road funding. The European Union and select middle powers are attempting neutrality while concerned about subsidized Chinese competition. Going forward, Mexico has a few options. It can choose to prioritize manufacturing batteries over EVS. Collaborations with battery manufacturers like CALB and LG Energy Solutions, supplying multiple automakers, are politically safer investments. Mexico can also seek to tap into U.S. International Development Finance Corporation grants designed to 'friend-shore' critical mineral projects, such as Mexico's lithium developments. The government could also seek to negotiate a solution that will allow it to build an EV manufacturing industry with an eye toward the future, when tariff policies might moderate. This might involve agreements to limit Chinese EV production exclusively for local markets, employing digital tracking to prevent re-export to the United States. It's not clear how attractive this would be to Chinese firms, however. For now, as long as Trump's tariffs persist, Chinese automakers will avoid Mexico, even while U.S. companies look to expand domestic production amid higher consumer costs. More broadly, the EV market will continue to fracture, with Chinese manufacturers dominating emerging markets while U.S., Japanese, and Korean brands solidify their positions in North America, and Europe remains contested. BYD's withdrawal underscores that geopolitical strategies now define industrial development as significantly as traditional factors like cost and logistics. Until tariff uncertainties subside, Mexico's role in global EV production remains vulnerable to political shifts, reaffirming that global business decisions increasingly hinge upon geopolitical landscapes rather than economics alone.
