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Trump tariffs spare no country, many in Asia, Europe hit harder
President Donald Trump is imposing tariffs on US trading partners worldwide, his biggest assault yet on a global economic system he has long bemoaned as unfair. Trump said Wednesday he will apply a minimum 10% tariff on all exporters to the US and slap additional duties on around 60 nations with the largest trade imbalances with the US. That includes substantially higher rates on some of the country's biggest trading partners, such as China — which now faces a 54% total tariff — the European Union and Vietnam. "For years, hard-working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it's our turn to prosper," Trump said during an event in the White House Rose Garden.The higher "reciprocal" rates targeting nations the Trump administration labels the worst offenders are based on a government tally of the levies and non-tariff barriers those countries impose on US goods. Under Trump's plan, those countries facing higher, customized rates will be hit with a levy equal to one-half of that calculated amount. The baseline import taxes will take effect after midnight Saturday and the higher duties will kick in at 12:01 a.m. on April 9, according to senior administration officials who discussed details the condition of anonymity ahead of Trump's announcement. Canada and Mexico already face 25% tariffs tied to drug trafficking and illegal migration; those will remain in place and the US's two largest trading partners will not be subject to the new tariff regime as long as the separate tariffs are in effect. Exemptions on goods covered by the USMCA North American trade agreement Trump brokered in his first term will stay.The president's announcement set off declines of 2% or more in equity benchmarks that had rallies for days on hopes his plan would be more lenient. Automaker shares traded lower virtually across the board. Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Stellantis NV and Tesla Inc. all declined after regular trading in New York. Oil prices, initially down after the announcement, reversed course in post-settlement trading. The US relies on European shipments of fuel to meet demand in the East Coast, where there are few refineries remaining. The U.S.also exports crude to countries.Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the tariffs Trump announced Wednesday were "much worse than we feared." Just how they would be administered was unclear, she said, and there were "huge implications for rerouting of trade" globally.China's cumulative tariff rate includes both an existing 20% duty tied to fentanyl trafficking and a 34% levy calculated as part of Trump's reciprocal plan, according to people familiar with the matter. The European Union will have a 20% levy and Vietnam is seeing a 46% tariff, White House documents showed. Other nations slapped with larger tariffs include Japan at 24%, South Korea at 25%, India at 26%, Cambodia at 49% and Taiwan at 32%. In an act of showmanship, Trump brandished large boards during his 48-minute address that displayed each nation's tariff. "Asian countries in particular look like they are in the line of fire," said Wendy Cutler of the Asia Society Policy Institute.The move marks a dramatic escalation of Trump's trade war, threatening to draw immediate retaliation from US trading partners. It makes good on months of promises from Trump, who has embraced tariffs as a tool for asserting US power, rebalancing trade relationships, rebuilding American manufacturing and exacting geopolitical concessions. It's also a stark break from a decades-long effort following World War II to lower trade barriers as a way to prevent armed conflicts. Yet Trump's plan is also narrower than some of the other options his team considered, including a 20% full global tariff. The president and his aides deliberated back-and-forth about which plan to enact until just hours before he announced the tariffs. Steel, aluminum, and automobiles already subject to Trump's duties will not face reciprocal tariffs, according to a White House document. Copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and lumber products expected to soon be hit with a tariff investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act will also be exempt, as are bullion and energy not available in the US.In the event the existing Canada and Mexico tariffs are terminated, USMCA-compliant goods would continue to receive preferable treatment while items not covered by the agreement would be subject to a 12% tariff, a White House statement said. "This is not full reciprocal. This is kind reciprocal," Trump said. The Mexican peso and Canada's dollar immediately jumped to session highs against the US dollar after the news that both countries aren't subject to reciprocal tariffs for now. The peso was up 0.8%, while the loonie gained 0.5%.Trump indicated he would consider lowering rates if other nations remove their trade barriers on U.S. exports, urging foreign leaders to "terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers" and "don't manipulate your currencies."Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed U.S. trading partners not to take retaliatory steps against Trump's reciprocal tariffs."I wouldn't try to retaliate," Bessent said in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg Television. "As long as you don't retaliate, this is the high end of the number."Trump declared a national emergency tied to the US trade deficit, which stood at more than $918 billion for goods and services in 2024, allowing him to use unilateral authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose the most sweeping set of tariffs in generations. The administration is aiming revive American manufacturing with its protectionist shift and collect hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue from the new levies to fill government coffers. The president's move is a historic gamble that is expected to raise the cost of trillions of dollars in goods shipped annually to the U.S. from other countries. It also could ignite a worldwide trade war, marked by tit-for-tat strikes that destabilize supply chains, stoke inflation, embolden America's economic rivals and encourage foreign powers to form new alliances that exclude the US. That dynamic presents a political problem for Trump: economic hurt from the tariffs could come quickly, while any gain in the form of a restructured US economy could take years or longer to materialize."The preliminary numbers are definitely more than we were expecting" and could boost the prices of some imported goods, said Veronica Clark, an economist at Citigroup Inc. "But in general we haven't been as worried about broader inflation spillover because demand is weaker."
Dems question Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac cuts, board changes
Two groups of Democratic senators are calling on Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to justify the legality of recent personnel changes and provide increased transparency around long-term goals.Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., led one group of six legislators who questioned the legalities around board changes at the agencies the FHFA oversees. Another group of eight that Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., heads up seeks more information on broader reforms.The inquiries from the two partly overlapping groups of Democrats raise questions around whether or not some FHFA orders affecting key quasi-public mortgage industry entities could face formal challenges."We write to request clarity regarding your plans with respect to the FHFA, the nation's housing finance system and the conservatorships," the group of eight Senate Democrats said in their letter about the broader issues.FHFA follows all statutory requirements and responds to letter writers directly. Both letters set deadlines for those responses. Blunt Rochester's group calls for answers to their broader questions about Pulte's goals and the housing system by April 14. The other led by Reed, which is critical of new board appointees' credentials and alleges conflicts with existing rule sets, seeks an answer by April 4."In addition to naming individuals who appear wholly unqualified to serve, the manner in which you have reconstituted the boards appears to violate federal law and FHFA's own regulations," the group of six senators said in their letter.In addition to Reed, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Tina Smith, D-Minn.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Blunt Rochester signed the letter questioning personnel decisions. Warren is the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. They specifically had questions about a federal law they alleged "prohibits the FHFA director from holding any office, position or employment in Fannie and Freddie," as well as agency regulations the senators said require an "independent" chairman of the two entities' boards."Federal law also requires the boards of these companies to include at least one person from an organization that has represented consumer or community interests, or has shown a career commitment to low-income housing," they added, questioning whether the boards reflect this.In related news about board members' credentials, Freddie added some for a new appointee initially listed without them. Freddie identified Michael Parrott as CEO and founder of 480th Consulting, a business advisory firm that utilizes artificial intelligence-driven analytics in its work.Pulte put himself and FHFA General Counsel Clinton Jones on both entities' boards. Several members faced pressure to leave or resigned. Also, Freddie Mac CEO Diana Reid departed and President Mike Hutchins replaced her on an interim basis. The FHFA additionally has issued a return to work order at the enterprises in a transition from hybrid staffing polices. Pulte has reportedly been looking at slashing the workforce in line with broader federal efficiency efforts while promising career opportunities for those who stay or join.Members of the group Blunt Rochester led said they were "concerned" about reported staffing changes, including FHFA executive departures, placements of 35 unionized employees from that agency on administrative leave, and closures of two units for a total 10% workforce cut.That group's letter also looked for clarity on bigger aims around how housing could be reformed through the FHFA. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Andy Kim, D-N.J.; and all the signatories to the letter about personnel moves, except Van Hollen, also put their names on the broader query.
Federal watchdog answers Dems' call to probe HUD cuts
A federal watchdog will probe specific alleged job cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in response to concerns from Democrats.The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, confirmed Tuesday it would investigate purported slashes to HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The office is responsible for responding to fair housing complaints, of which it received an estimated 34,000 in 2023, according to data from the National Fair Housing Alliance. Five Democratic senators including Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., ranking member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, requested the GAO investigation following media reports of proposed widespread job cuts at the department. "Their plans to cut 80% of HUD's fair housing staff would harm families across the country who have experienced housing discrimination," said Warren in a Tuesday release applauding the GAO's move. The 80% figure comes from a February Associated Press report which claims a leaked document mulls a staff reduction at HUD's FHEO from 572 employees to 134 workers. Those cuts, along other terminations, would align with the Trump administration's government-wide efforts to slash the federal budget. HUD didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The housing regulator and its secretary, Scott Turner, have publicly touted the department's reshuffling but haven't disclosed details about staffing levels. Internal staff reductions appear separate from cuts undertaken by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. The Elon Musk-led task force claims to have eliminated over 100 vendor contracts at HUD for savings of more than $160 million. DOGE continues to update contract terminations at HUD and other agencies on its "Wall of Receipts," and claims HUD is the sixth-ranked department for "most savings." One recent, massive move is an alleged $285 million saved in terminating a contract worth $315 million with South Dakota-based Project Solutions to support HUD's Real Estate Assessment Center. The list of DOGE cuts has proven unreliable, as the task force has previously admitted and corrected errors. One alleged DOGE cut at HUD simply lists a $4.2 million savings, with no description of the contractor or work involved. In response last week to a National Mortgage News inquiry about other DOGE cuts, HUD responded with a March 12 X post by Turner, in which the secretary dispelled media reports of cuts but touted the agency's cost-saving efforts. The agency, he claimed, wouldn't slow down its mission critical functions nor undertake sweeping office closures. "Are HUD-funded programs going to stop?" Turner asked in the video. "The short answer is no, but things are definitely going to look a little bit different."The secretary's busy first months at HUD include, among other actions, repealing the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, and ending efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion. HUD has endured backlash on other fronts, including a lawsuit from state fair housing groups over suspended grants. A federal judge last week issued a temporary restraining order which required HUD reinstate those Fair Housing Initiatives Program monies. In another federal civil suit, a judge Monday ordered federal agencies, including HUD, to reinstate any affected probationary employees they let go. Those workers were among the first targeted by the Trump administration's sweeping changes. It's unclear how many probationary staffers HUD employed or terminated, but it must report those figures to the federal court by April 8, the judge ruled. Democrats on the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services Tuesday also sent a letter to Turner discouraging HUD from experimenting with blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Propublica first raised the possibility of such actions, which HUD and Turner have denied.
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