Fourth person dies following shooting in Co Fermanagh
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Daily Mirror
a minute ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump insists he's reached 'excellent' tariff deals - but won't give any details
Donald Trump has signed orders for new tariffs to go into effect in seven days on a wide range of US trading partners, including Mexico, Japan, Taiwan and Australia Donald Trump insists he has set "excellent" new tariffs on a range of trading partners - but didn't give any details on these. The US President today stressed his trade agenda will maintain the global economy and sturdiness of alliances his nation has built up over decades. The White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of the president's self-imposed Friday deadline. The tariffs are being implemented at a later date in order for the rates schedule to be harmonised. Speaking last night, Mr Trump said: "We have made a few deals today that are excellent deals for the country." However, the world leader did not go into any detail on these, such as the nations involved and his senior administration officials also declined to offer more information when asked by reporters. It comes after Mr Trump recently reignited his feud with Sadiq Khan in front of Keir Starmer, with a savage jibe at the London Mayor. The Mirror understands some tariffs have been lowered, and it is thought these include the original 50% threat to Lesotho. It is believed the African nation's goods will now be taxed at 15%. Our understanding is Taiwan will have tariffs set at 20%, and Pakistan at 19%. Israel, Iceland, Norway, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana and Ecuador are among the countries with imported goods taxed at 15%. Switzerland would be tariffed at 39%, it is thought. However, Mr Trump, the former businessman, would not be drawn on commenting on exact arrangements for specific nations. But he did confess: "We haven't spoken to Canada today," in a pertinent reference following a fresh jibe at Mark Carney's nation earlier this week. The US leader had said it would be "very hard" to make a trade deal with Canada after the country became the latest nation to recognise a Palestinian state. He had posted on social media: "Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!" Yet, Mr Trump had announced a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil, but the order was only 10% as the other 40% were part of a separate measure approved by Mr Trump on Wednesday. One of his first significant moves as president was to impose tariffs on goods from both Mexico and Canada earlier this year. US Census Bureau figures show that the U.S. ran a $171.5 billion trade deficit with Mexico last year.
The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
Trump to build ‘beautiful' $200m ballroom at White House
The White House will soon begin construction of a new $200m ballroom to be ready before Donald Trump's term ends in early 2029. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the building will be 90,000 sq ft and will hold up to 650 seats. It will be the latest change introduced to what's known as 'the People's House' since the Republican president returned to office in January. It also will be the first structural change to the executive mansion itself since the addition of the Truman Balcony in 1948. The White House is currently unable to hold large-scale events, given the 200-person capacity in the White House's East Room. In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump pointed to the White House's set-up for large-scale events, which necessitates ferrying guests to tents set up on the South Lawn. 'When it rains or snows, it's a disaster,' Trump said, noting that tents are currently set up 'a football field away from the White House'. From Trump's view, a new ballroom has long been in demand. 'I'm doing a lot of improvements,' Trump said to NBC. 'I'll be building a beautiful ballroom. They wanted it for many, many years.' Levitt said funding for the addition will come from Trump, as well as other 'patriot donors', according to the White House website, leading Trump to label the project as 'his gift to the country'. McCrery Architects has been chosen to complete the design, with Clark Construction as the construction lead, and AECOM handling engineering. The ballroom will be separate from the White House's main building, and will take the place of the current East Wing. The project fits nicely in the wheelhouse of America's real-estate magnate president, who has taken the presidential tradition of redecoration a step further. While Trump's past changes, such as paving portions of the Rose Garden and layering gold filigree throughout the White House, are easily reversible, a new ballroom building would last long after Trump leaves office.
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Australia dodges latest Trump tariff hikes as most imports held at 10%
Australian goods imported into the US will continue to attract the baseline 10% tariff, with Australia dodging any tariff increase in the latest round of Donald Trump's global trade war. On Thursday night US time – Friday morning in Australia – Trump issued an executive order confirming new tariff deals for several trading partners, as well as revised tariffs for a number of other countries. Australia is not mentioned in the order, which stated that any countries not on the new list would remain at a 10% tariff rate. 'The White House has confirmed that no country has reciprocal tariffs lower than Australia,' a spokesperson for Australia's minister for trade, Don Farrell, said on Friday morning. Sign up: AU Breaking News email 'While we remain in the best possible position under the United States' new tariff regime, we will continue to advocate for the removal of all tariffs in line with our free trade agreement.' Farrell was due to speak in Adelaide later on Friday. In the executive order issued this week, Trump indicated he was open to further negotiations on tariffs, for countries he saw as aligned to his America First ideology. 'Some trading partners have agreed to, or are on the verge of agreeing to, meaningful trade and security commitments with the United States, thus signaling their sincere intentions to permanently remedy the trade barriers that have contributed to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257, and to align with the United States on economic and national security matters.' Executive Order 14257 was Trump's April order, which argued that 'large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States'. Trump's latest executive order castigated unnamed countries he felt had shown insufficient fealty to the US on trade. 'Other trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters,' the order read. 'There are also some trading partners that have failed to engage in negotiations with the United States or to take adequate steps to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters.' The new executive order punishes small economies in particular, who have limited trading relationships with the US: Syria was given a 41% tariff rate, Myanmar and Laos 40%. The EU has a split tariff rate: 0% on some goods, and 15% on others. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion China, one of the US's largest trading partners and a target of Trump's trade ire, is not mentioned in the latest order. It remains at a 30% tariff rate, with some exemptions for goods such as smartphones and semiconductors. A proposed – punitive – 145% tariff on Chinese imports has been paused until mid-August. The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told reporters the US has the 'makings of a deal' with China, but that it's not yet complete. 'There's still a few technical details to be worked out on the Chinese side between us. I'm confident that it will be done, but it's not 100% done.' With tariff negotiations still in play, Trump has taken aim at countries that negotiate with American drug companies to pay lower prices for pharmaceuticals, such as Australia. Under Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the government negotiates directly with drug companies to secure comparatively low prices, a long-standing arrangement, but one which has been a consistent irritant for Trump. Australia has been consistent in its dealings with the Trump administration that 'the PBS is not up for negotiation'. 'Our government is getting on with the job of delivering cheaper medicines for Australians,' a government spokesperson said.
