Latest news with #TrevorHunnicutt
Japan Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Trump signs order extending China tariff truce by 90 days, White House says
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal U.S. President Donald Trump extended a tariff truce with China by another 90 days on Monday, a White House official said, staving off triple-digit duties on Chinese goods as U.S. retailers prepared for the critical end-of-year holiday season. Trump signed an executive order delaying the start of higher tariffs until mid-November shortly after giving reporters a noncommittal answer when asked at a news conference if he planned to keep the lower tariff rates in place. On Sunday, Trump demanded China quadruple its purchases of U.S. soybeans, but it remained unclear whether Beijing had agreed. The tariff truce between Beijing and Washington had been due to expire on Tuesday at 00:01 ET (04:01 GMT). The timing of the extension until early November buys crucial time for the seasonal autumn surge of imports for the Christmas season, including electronics, apparel and toys at lower tariff rates. The new order prevents U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from shooting up to 145%, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods were set to hit 125% - rates that would have resulted in a virtual trade embargo between the two countries. It locks in place - at least for now - a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, with Chinese duties on U.S. imports at 10%. "We'll see what happens," Trump told a news conference earlier on Monday, highlighting what he called his good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It's positive news. Combined with some of the de-escalatory steps both the United States and China have taken in recent weeks, it demonstrated that both sides are trying to see if they can reach some kind of a deal that would lay the groundwork for a Xi-Trump meeting this fall," said Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official who is now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Trump told CNBC last week that the U.S. and China were getting very close to a trade agreement and he would meet with Xi before the end of the year if a deal was struck. TRADE 'DETENTE' CONTINUED The two sides in May announced a truce in their trade dispute after talks in Geneva, Switzerland, agreeing to a 90-day period to allow further talks. They met again in Stockholm, Sweden, in late July, and U.S. negotiators returned to Washington with a recommendation that Trump extend the deadline. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said repeatedly that the triple-digit import duties both sides slapped on each other's goods in the spring were untenable and had essentially imposed a trade embargo between the world's two largest economies. "It wouldn't be a Trump-style negotiation if it didn't go right down to the wire," said Kelly Ann Shaw, a senior White House trade official during Trump's first term and now with law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. She said Trump had likely pressed China for further concessions before agreeing to the extension. Trump pushed for additional concessions on Sunday, urging China to quadruple its soybean purchases, although analysts questioned the feasibility of any such deal. Trump did not repeat the demand on Monday. "The whole reason for the 90-day pause in the first place was to lay the groundwork for broader negotiations and there's been a lot of noise about everything from soybeans to export controls to excess capacity over the weekend," Shaw said. Ryan Majerus, a former U.S. trade official now with the King & Spalding law firm, said the news would give both sides more time to work through longstanding trade concerns. 'This will undoubtedly lower anxiety on both sides as talks continue, and as the U.S. and China work toward a framework deal in the fall," he said. Imports from China early this year had surged to beat Trump's tariffs, but dropped steeply in June, Commerce Department data showed last week. The U.S. trade deficit with China tumbled by roughly a third in June to $9.5 billion, its narrowest since February 2004. Over five consecutive months of declines, the U.S. trade gap with China has narrowed by $22.2 billion - a 70% reduction from a year earlier. No formal announcement was immediately released. The Treasury Department and U.S. Trade Representative's Office did not respond to requests for comment. Washington has also been pressing Beijing to stop buying Russian oil, with Trump threatening to impose secondary tariffs on China. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move, deploys National Guard in capital
800 National Guard troops to be deployed to Washington President to take direct control of capital city's police Trump uses urban crime in latest political strategy push By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose Trump's move, which bypassed the city's elected leaders, was emblematic of his approach to his presidency, wielding executive authority in ways that have little precedent in modern U.S. history and in defiance of political norms. The president cast his actions as necessary to 'rescue' Washington from what he described as a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024 and has continued to decline this year. 'I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C.,' Trump told a news conference at the White House. 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.' It is the second time this summer that the Republican president has deployed troops to a Democratically governed city. Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June over the objections of state and local officials. And Trump signaled at his news conference that another major U.S. city with Democratic leadership could be next – Chicago, where violent crime was down significantly in the first half of the year. 'If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster,' Trump said at the White House, adding, 'Hopefully L.A. is watching.' Trump has shown particular interest in taking over Washington, which is under the jurisdiction of Congress but exercises self-governance under a 1973 U.S. law. Hundreds of officers and agents from more than a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days. Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said. The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump's claims of unchecked violence, saying the city is 'not experiencing a crime spike' and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year. Violent crime, including murders, spiked in 2023, turning Washington into one of the nation's deadliest cities. Since then, however, violent crime dropped 35% in 2024, according to federal data, and it has fallen an additional 26% in the first seven months of 2025, according to city police. The city's attorney general, Brian Schwalb, called Trump's actions 'unprecedented, unnecessary and unlawful' in an X post, and said his office was 'considering all of our options.' Bowser did not immediately comment on Trump's announcement, though other Democrats weighed in. 'Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost,' House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X. TRUMP RAMPS UP RHETORIC Over the past week, Trump has intensified his messaging, suggesting he might attempt to strip the city of its local autonomy and implement a full federal takeover. The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it. In taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, Trump invoked a section of the act that allows the president to use the force for 30 days when 'special conditions of an emergency nature' exist. Trump said he was declaring a 'public safety emergency' in the city. Under the statute, presidential control is 'designed to be a temporary emergency measure, not a permanent takeover,' University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday said. Trump's own Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting security funding for the National Capital Region, an area that includes D.C. and nearby cities in Maryland and Virginia. The region will receive $20 million less this year from the federal urban security fund, amounting to a 44% year-on-year cut. TRIAL BEGINS A federal trial was set to begin on Monday in San Francisco on whether Trump's administration violated U.S. law by deploying 5,000 National Guard troops and U.S. Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. The troops were sent in response to protests over raids by federal immigration agents. State and local officials objected to Trump's decision as unnecessary, unlawful and inflammatory. In a post on X, Newsom wrote, 'Washington, DC – here's what you can expect now that the president wants to cosplay as dictator in your city, too: Soldiers sitting around with nothing to do; Lies from all levels of the federal government; No meaningful impact.' The president has broad authority over the 2,700 members of the D.C. National Guard, unlike in states where governors typically hold the power to activate troops. Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including in response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. During his first term as president, Trump sent the National Guard into Washington in 2020 to help quash mostly peaceful demonstrations during nationwide protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. Civil rights leaders and city leaders denounced the deployment. Since the 1980s, Trump has used rhetoric on crime, often with racial undertones, as a political tool. His 1989 call for the death penalty in the Central Park jogger case, involving five Black and Latino teens later exonerated of raping and beating a woman, remains among the controversial moments of his public life. The 'Central Park Five' sued Trump for defamation after he falsely said during a presidential debate last year that they had pleaded guilty. Washington's population was about 40% Black as of 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Chicago was about 29% Black and 30% Hispanic or Latino, while Los Angeles was about 47% Hispanic or Latino.
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump says US will set 15% tariff on South Korean imports under new deal
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Ju-min Park WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of a deal that eases, for now, tension with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian ally. The arrangement, announced shortly after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House, came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements ahead of a self-imposed August 1 deadline. That is when Trump has promised higher tariffs will kick in on U.S. imports from a range of countries. Imports from South Korea, a powerhouse exporter of computer chips, cars and steel, faced a 25% rate. "I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump said South Korea had agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States in projects selected by Trump and to purchase $100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products, the U.S. president said. Both steps have been major priorities for Trump, a Republican, in other trade deals. After Trump's announcement, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the country's tariff deal with the United States would put South Korea on an equal or better footing compared with other countries. The claim could not be immediately verified. He also said the countries had agreed to set up a $350 billion investment fund, out of which $150 billion was aimed at a shipbuilding partnership. Reuters has not seen the text of the deal or analyzed its terms. It was not immediately clear how the investment deals would be structured, where the financing would come from, over what time frame they would be implemented and to what extent their terms would be binding on the parties involved. Trump said additional South Korean investments would be announced later. Lee will visit the White House "within the next two weeks" for a meeting with Trump, the U.S. president added. Trump also said South Korea would accept American products, including cars, trucks and agriculture into its markets and impose no import duties on them. Under the deal, the U.S. would also lower tariffs on South Korean-made autos to 15%, from 25%, the South Korean presidential office said. They also said computer chips and pharmaceutical tariffs imposed on the country's U.S.-bound exports would not be worse than other countries, and that South Korea's rice and beef markets would not be open. South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo had been in Washington for talks with senior U.S. officials and were believed to have met with Trump shortly before the deal announcement. Pressure had been mounting on South Korea since Japan clinched a deal to cut Trump's threatened tariffs to 15% earlier this month. Amid the last-minute push by government officials to reach a tariff deal, South Korea's Samsung Electronics inked a $16.5 billion chip deal with Tesla. South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution also signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with energy storage system batteries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US military bases to restore names changed after racial justice protests, Trump says
By Trevor Hunnicutt FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the military would rename bases which were changed after racial justice protests in 2023, including reverting to Fort Lee originally named after Civil War-era Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. Under the Trump administration, the Pentagon has already renamed Fort Moore back to its original name of Fort Benning and Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been able to sidestep a Congressional provision that banned bases having Confederate names by renaming bases after people with the same names as the Confederate officials. "We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort AP Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee," Trump said while speaking at Fort Bragg. "We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change," Trump said as uniformed service members stood behind him. Fort Lee, located in Petersburg, Virginia, was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in 2023. After Trump's announcement, the Army said that Fort Lee would be renamed after Private Fitz Lee, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Spanish-American War. During Trump's speech at Fort Bragg, some audience members, including those in uniform, cheered as the president made the announcement. They also jeered at the press as Trump pointed towards reporters and called them "Fake News" and applauded as he took shots at his predecessor, Joe Biden. Uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces are meant to be apolitical, carrying out the policies of Democratic and Republican administrations. The 2023 move to shed Confederate names for military bases came in the wake of nationwide protests after the 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Confederate flags and base names can be offensive to many Americans, who see them as reminders of the enslavement of Black Americans and symbols of white supremacy. Congress in 2021 passed legislation forbidding the naming of bases after anyone who voluntarily served or held leadership in the Confederate States of America, the breakaway republic of Southern states that fought against the U.S. in the Civil War in the 19th Century.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump to mark Army milestone as troops deployed to Los Angeles
By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump will address U.S. soldiers on Tuesday as his administration deploys 700 Marines to Los Angeles in an escalating response to street protests over his immigration policies. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were scheduled to visit Fort Bragg, home to some 50,000 active-duty soldiers, for long-scheduled commemorations of the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary ahead of a major parade in Washington on Saturday. The visit comes as Trump, a Republican, is temporarily deploying forces within California to reinforce National Guard troops sent to help protect federal property and personnel. California's Democratic-led government has said the move is an abuse of power and an unnecessary provocation. Street demonstrations in Southern California have been underway since Friday, when activists clashed with sheriff's deputies. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting the ICE border enforcement agency a daily goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants. Demonstrators in Los Angeles have assembled, among other places, at a government facility where immigrants are detained. Trump's remarks to troops were expected to focus on the Army anniversary, including the courage of soldiers, who will be among the 15,000 expected in the audience, according to a White House official. Trump will also visit a bunker to view a military demonstration of artillery, special forces and paratroopers. The week's Army commemorations combine Trump's enthusiasm for patriotic pomp and his political positioning as a law-and-order president. Saturday's celebrations in Washington include thousands of troops, dozens of military aircraft and coincide with Trump's 79th birthday. The Army was established on June 14, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. Earlier this year, Trump restored the name Fort Bragg to the base, one of the largest in the world, despite a federal law that prohibits honoring generals who fought for the South during the Civil War. His administration says the name now honors a different Bragg - Private First Class Roland Bragg, who served during World War Two. In 2023, the base had been renamed Fort Liberty, a change driven by racial justice protests. Since launching his second term in office in January, Trump has made the military a focus of his efforts, with his defense secretary working to purge transgender service members, top officials appointed under his Democratic predecessor and even books deemed out of step. Trump has pledged to avoid international conflict while launching new weapons programs and increasing the use of the military domestically, including in immigration enforcement. His cost-cutting government reforms have largely spared the Defense Department's nearly $1 trillion annual budget.
