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The Education Department’s civil rights branch is losing nearly half its staff in President Donald Trump’s administration lays off, effectively gutting an office that already faced a backlog of thousands of complaints from students and families across the nation.

Among a total of more than 1,300 layoffs announced Tuesday were roughly 240 in the department’s Office for Civil Rights, according to a list obtained and verified by The Associated Press. Seven of the civil rights agency’s 12 regional offices were entirely laid off, including busy hubs in New York, Chicago and Dallas. Despite assurances that the department’s work will continue unaffected, huge numbers of cases appear to be in limbo.

Military leaders warn of risks to forces’ readiness in temporary budget

The vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force said if they don’t get additional funding, they at least need the flexibility to shift money to ensure their priorities are covered.

“Ultimately, the Army can afford a large, ready or modern force, but with the current budget, it cannot afford all three,” Gen. James Mingus, vice chief of staff of the Army, told the Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee on Wednesday. “Either we provide soldiers the capabilities needed to win or accept greater risks in other areas.”

He warned that the Army will pay for those risks down the road “in real-world battlefield consequences.”

WATCH: Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil say he was taken in retaliation for exercising free speech rights

Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyer says the Trump administration’s detention of a Columbia University graduate for his role in campus protests against Israel are punishment and retaliation for the exercise of free speech. (AP video: Ted Shaffrey)

Speaker Mike Johnson says he and Trump hope the Senate will vote to keep the government open

Johnson says they “are both very happy with the outcome of the vote” in the House to fund the government past Friday’s deadline and are “watching very closely what happens in the Senate.”

“I hope they keep the government open,” he said after an annual Irish luncheon at the Capitol.

He warns that Democrats are “going to regret” not joining Republicans to pass the bill and that if Senate Democrats block the bill, “it’s going to be a Schumer shutdown,” referring to the Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “I don’t think he wants that.”

Scientists see EPA’s regulatory rollbacks as latest form of ‘Republican climate denial’

“They can no longer deny climate change is happening, so instead they’re pretending it’s not a threat, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that it is, perhaps, the greatest threat that we face today,” University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann said.

The United States is the second largest carbon polluter in the world, after China, and the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases.

“The Trump administration’s ignorance is trumped only by its malice toward the planet,” said Jason Rylander, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Trump and his cronies are bent on putting polluter profits ahead of people’s lives.”

EPA chief says removing clean-air rules will ensure ‘American energy remains clean’

Zeldin said EPA will rewrite a rule restricting air pollution from fossil-fuel fired power plants and a separate measure restricting emissions from cars and trucks that Zeldin and Trump incorrectly label an electric vehicle “mandate.’’

President Biden made fighting climate change a hallmark of his presidency, pledging that half of the new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. would be zero-emission by 2030.

Zeldin’s EPA also is undoing restrictions on mercury and other air toxins, federal protections for wetlands and a three-decade effort to improve conditions in areas heavily burdened by industrial pollution.

“This isn’t about abandoning environmental protection — it’s about achieving it through innovation and not strangulation,” Zeldin wrote. “By reconsidering rules that throttled oil and gas production and unfairly targeted coal-fired power plants, we are ensuring that American energy remains clean, affordable and reliable.”

Trump administration resumes detention of migrant families after Biden-era pause

Fourteen immigrant families were being held in a South Texas detention facility as of Monday, according to RAICES, a legal nonprofit providing services to migrant families at the Karnes Detention Center. They’re from nations including Colombia, Romania, Iran, Angola, Russia, Armenia, Turkey and Brazil.

Faisal Al-Juburi, RAICES’ chief external affairs officer, said the nonprofit noticed the shift in detention population last week after adult detainees were moved out.

Detaining family members together was largely halted, but not abolished, during the Biden administration, which briefly considered restarting it in 2023.

Ukraine has run out of longer-range ATACMS missiles

Pentagon shipments of weapons to Ukraine have restarted, but officials acknowledged on Wednesday that Kyiv no longer has any of the longer-range Army Tactical Missile System weapons.

That’s according to a U.S. official and a Ukrainian lawmaker in the defense committee. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to provide military weapons details.

The American official said the U.S. provided fewer than 40 of those missiles overall and that Ukraine ran out of them in late January. Senior U.S. defense and military leaders had told Ukraine there would only be a limited number of the ATACMs delivered and that the U.S. and NATO allies considered air defense systems to be far more valuable.

▶ Read more about the war between Russia and Ukraine

To be combative or conciliatory? Two Democrats diverge sharply on Trump strategy

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has tried to sound collaborative when it comes to Trump, declaring that she looks forward to talking with him about border security.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, meanwhile, began suing the Trump administration at a fast clip.

“I don’t think you can yield to authoritarian, anti-democratic behavior when it’s in the White House and when our country is in as much danger as it is right now,” Mayes said. “Our country has never been in this much peril since the Civil War.”

Both seek reelection next year in a state that went for Trump. Their starkly different approaches show how Democrats nationwide are struggling to shore up winning coalitions.

▶ Read more about Democrats and Trump

White House national security adviser Waltz speaks with Russian official about ceasefire proposal

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an appearance on Fox News Channel that national security adviser Mike Waltz spoke Wednesday with his Russian counterpart.

Leavitt also confirmed that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will be headed to Moscow for talks with Russian officials. The Trump administration wants Russia to sign off on the U.S. proposed ceasefire agreement to pause fighting with Ukraine for 30 days.

She did not say with whom Witkoff will be meeting.

A person familiar with the matter said Witkoff is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later his week. The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity

There’s new data on how many immigrants have been arrested since Trump took office

A senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said during a call with reporters that they have arrested 32,809 people so far.

The official said of those ICE has arrested, 14,111 were convicted criminals. Another 9,980 had pending criminal charges.

A further 8,718 had violated U.S. immigration law, which usually means they crossed the border illegally but haven’t committed other crimes since arriving.

The administration has said its first priority is deporting people who committed crimes in the U.S. but that they’ll arrest others in the country illegally that they find during operations.

The official also said there are about 47,600 people currently in ICE detention, which he described as “maxed out.”

Trump’s EPA targets bedrock of climate law. Scientists say they won’t win

Zeldin said he and the president support rewriting the agency’s 2009 finding that planet-warming greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — a Clean Air Act underpinning of climate regulations on pollution sources.

Environmentalists and climate scientists say any attempt to undo this bedrock of U.S. law won’t succeed.

“In the face of overwhelming science, it’s impossible to think that the EPA could develop a contradictory finding that would stand up in court,” said David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Trump says the friendship between the US and Ireland is ‘strong and unbreakable’

The president made the comment during the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon, also attended by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, on Capitol Hill.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson toasted the relationship between the two countries and the Irish dance group “Riverdance” — which is performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. — made a surprise appearance to round out the event.

Martin called Trump “a great friend of Ireland” and said he hopes to welcome him back to the country soon.

Trump noted he missed the luncheon in 2020, the last year of his first term, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re going to do this at least three more times,” Trump said of the remaining years in his term, to laughter in the room. “When I say ‘at least’ they go crazy.”

EPA administrator declares the ‘most consequential day of deregulation in American history’

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin announced rollbacks Wednesday of 31 environmental regulations including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles.

“We are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age,’’ Zeldin said in an essay in the Wall Street Journal.

Zeldin says these actions will eliminate trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and “hidden taxes,” lowering the cost of living for American families and reducing prices for buying cars, heating homes and operating businesses.

▶ Read more on EPA regulatory rollbacks

Layoffs hit nearly half the staff at the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights

The layoffs effectively gut an office that was already facing a backlog of thousands of complaints from students and families.

Among a total of more than 1,300 layoffs announced Tuesday were roughly 240 in the department’s civil rights office, according to a list obtained and verified by The Associated Press. Seven of the civil rights agency’s 12 regional offices were entirely laid off, including busy hubs in New York, Chicago and Dallas.

Some staffers who remain say there’s no way to pick up all of their fired colleagues’ cases, which involve families trying to get school services for students with disabilities, allegations of bias related to race and religion, and complaints over sexual violence at schools and college campuses.

Department officials insist the cuts will not affect civil rights investigations.

▶ Read more on the Department of Education layoffs

JUST IN: EPA head announces sweeping actions to revoke Biden-era rules on power plants, climate and electric vehicles

On the economy, Trump said: ‘Remember, Trump is always right’

It’s another volatile day for financial markets as Trump escalates his trade war and blames Biden for losses.

“I think a lot of the stock market going down was because of the really bad four years that we had, when you look at inflation and all of the other problems, I mean wars and inflation and so many others problems,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “Financially, we’ll be stronger than ever before. I think the markets are gonna soar when they see what’s happening.”

The day before, he dismissed fears of a recession, and told reporters that his results “are going to be 20 times greater. Remember, Trump is always right.”

▶ Read more about how Trump takes credit, dishes blame for stock market

Research group says state-required abortion reporting should be scaled back

A research organization that advocates for abortion rights is calling on state governments to stop requiring providers to submit reports on every terminated pregnancy.

Data can be collected voluntarily and in the aggregate instead, says the Guttmacher Institute, which noted that Trump has appointed abortion opponents to key federal jobs.

“It would be a mistake for anyone to assume now that the information a state could collect about abortion would not be used to harm people,” said Kelly Baden, Guttmacher’s vice president for public policy.

▶ Read more about how abortions are tracked nationwide

Trump talks with Irish PM about his passion for mixed marital arts

The topic came up during the president’s meeting with Micheál Martin in the Oval Office when a reporter asked Trump to name his favorite person in Ireland.

“I do like your fighter. He’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen,” Trump says of the MMA fighter Conor McGregor. “Conor’s great, right?”

“Ireland’s always had a lot of good fighters,” he continues. “You know why? Because they are tough people. They are smart people and they are passionate people.”

Trump attended multiple Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts during the 2024 presidential campaign.

The president notes that Martin’s father was an acclaimed boxer then motions to Martin saying, “You’re so smooth.”

“I’m a pretty good defensive boxer,” Martin jokes in reply.

Southwest Key Programs was the nation’s largest provider of housing for unaccompanied migrant children

The Biden administration’s complaint alleged a litany of sex abuse and other offenses between 2015 and 2023 as Southwest Key Programs, which operates migrant shelters in Texas, Arizona and California, amassed nearly $3 billion in contracts from the Department of Health and Human Services.

That lawsuit was dismissed on Wednesday after the federal government announced they would no longer use its services. Children who were still in Southwest Key shelters were moved to other housing, and the company said Tuesday it was furloughing about 5,000 employees.

▶ Read more about the allegations involving unaccompanied minor detainees

Federal Trade Commission requests delay to Amazon Prime deceptive practices trial

The commission asked a federal judge for more time to prepare, citing staffing and budgetary challenges. The FTC filed the suit in 2023 and the trial is scheduled for September.

“Our resource constraints are severe and really unique to this moment,” Jonathan Cohen, an FTC attorney, told Judge John Chun during a status hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. “We have lost employees in the agency, in our division and on the case team.”

When Chun asked if this was in reference to recent cuts in the federal government, Cohen said it was, adding that some employees who resigned could not be replaced due to the federal hiring freeze.

JUST IN: Trump administration drops lawsuit against provider of child migrant shelters accused of abusing minors

Trump and Vance show guarded optimism about Russia accepting ceasefire proposal

Vice President JD Vance says the administration believes it is in a “very good place” as it pushes the Kremlin to sign off on a U.S.-backed proposal to pause the fighting with Ukraine for 30 days.

He says U.S. officials will have conversations with their Russian counterparts by phone and in person in the coming days.

Trump says he has received some good feedback to the proposal. He has offered no details.

“I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing. This is a very serious situation,” Trump said. “This is a situation that could lead to World War III.”

“We’ve gotten half of it as a ceasefire,” Trump added. “And if we can get Russia to stop then we have a full ceasefire. And I think it’ll never go back to war.”

Dems want to see the economic impact from Trump’s tariffs

Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and other Democratic senators are proposing a bill that would require the International Trade Commission to investigate the impact of tariffs on consumers, companies and the job market.

“The last thing we need are tariffs that will raise prices,” Alsobrooks says in a statement. “My bill will force a nonpartisan study on this Administration’s tariffs and how they will impact everyday Americans.”

The proposed Tariff Transparency Act would force the Trump administration to provide details of the latest taxes on imports for evaluation by the commission, just as the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation evaluate the impact that Congress’ proposals could have on the economy.

▶ Read more on the tariffs

Trump abruptly pauses his comments on inflation to mention his vice president’s socks

President Donald Trump was meeting with Ireland’s Taoiseach Michael Martin when something caught his eye: the vice president’s socks.

“By the way, I love these socks. What’s with these socks? I’m trying to stay focused, but I’m very impressed with the VP’s socks,” Trump said, sparking chuckles in an Oval Office meeting with the Irish prime minister.

Vance was sporting socks patterned with small, green shamrocks, a nod to Martin ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

“The president is a very big fan of conservative dress. And so, if he notices these socks, you have to defend me in the Oval Office,” Vance said earlier.

“This is an important part of cementing the Irish-American relationship, and that’s the only reason I’m wearing these socks,” Vance kidded.

Trump says ‘it’s up to Russia now’ as US presses Moscow for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine

“And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump said during an extended exchange with reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Micheál Martin, the Taosich of Ireland. “And if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath” ended.

The president again made veiled threats of hitting Russia with new sanctions.

“We can, but I hope it’s not going to be necessary,” Trump added.

▶ Read more on US-Ukraine-Russia diplomacy

Republicans rejoice that a Democratic senator is not running for reelection

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision brings to an end the 78-year-old New Hampshire senator’s long political career and deals a significant blow to Democrats, who are already facing a difficult path to reclaiming the Senate majority.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who leads the Senate Republican campaign arm, wrote on X, that “New Hampshire has a proud tradition of electing common-sense Republicans — and will do so again in 2026!”

The GOP already holds 53 seats in the Senate compared with the Democrats’ 47, including two independents who caucus with Democrats.

▶ Read more on Shaheen’s decision

Trump says with Irish PM in the room that Ireland takes advantage of the US

Sitting in the Oval Office with Martin, Trump repeated his assertion that the European Union was created to take advantage of the United States.

Asked if that included EU member Ireland, Trump said, “Of course they are.” He added that the EU is doing what they need to do for the bloc of countries, but said it “creates ill will.”

Their next stop was the Capitol for an early St. Patrick’s Day lunch.

Catholic Charities group says Trump administration owes it $42 million — and counting

A federal judge is weighing a request by Catholic Charities of Fort Worth to force the Trump administration to resume payments under its contract to provide aid to refugees.

The charity says the money owed is growing by the day since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services paused payments in January.

An attorney for HHS said the pause is temporary, meant to ensure the money is being spent properly.

But Catholic Charities attorney Edward Waters said the funding freeze appears part of an effort to “grind this program to a halt.”

Even some Trump allies seem uncomfortable with targeting people over their language

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, CHRISTINE FERNANDO

“There’s almost no one I don’t want to deport,” conservative commentator Ann Coulter wrote on X, “but, unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the first amendment?”

▶ Read more about Trump and the First Amendment

Critics say Trump, who campaigned as free speech protector, now threatens it

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, CHRISTINE FERNANDO

Trump boasted in his joint address to Congress last week that he has “brought free speech back to America.”

First Amendment advocates say they’ve never seen this freedom so under attack.

Trump’s Republican administration has threatened to investigate Democratic members of Congress for criticizing conservatives, pulled federal grants that include language it opposes, sanctioned law firms that represent Trump’s political opponents and detained a student protest organizer, which Trump called “the first arrest of many to come.”

“Your right to say something depends on what the administration thinks of it, which is no free speech at all,” said Will Creeley, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan First Amendment group.

Election winners have a message for Trump: Greenland is not for sale

Trump told a joint session of Congress last week that the U.S. would get Greenland “one way or the other.”

The surprise winners in Greenland’s parliamentary elections are pushing back, saying the results show Greenlanders alone will decide their future.

“We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders. And we want our own independence in the future,” Demokraatit leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Sky News.

The strategically important territory holds reserves of rare earth minerals and is home to a U.S. air base straddling North Atlantic air and sea routes.

▶ Read more about how Greenlanders in Nuuk see Trump

Emirati diplomat identified as carrying Trump letter meets with Iran’s foreign minister

Iranian state television showed Emirati official Anwar Gargash meeting with Abbas Araghchi. Garachi was identified by Iran as carrying a letter from Trump seeking to jumpstart talks over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Trump said its intended recipient is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has said he’s not interested in talks with a “bullying government.”

But Iran continues to struggle with economic woes, and Trump has imposed even more sanctions over its nuclear program. That pressure, coupled with internal turmoil and direct attacks by Israel, has put the theocracy in one of its most-precarious positions yet.

▶ Read more about U.S.-Iran nuclear diplomacy

Trump says the latest inflation numbers are ‘very good news’

U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as widespread tariffs threaten to send prices higher.

A reporter asked the president for his thoughts on the inflation numbers as he greeted Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin, who is visiting the White House.

▶ Read more on inflation

US Jewish groups are sharply divided over Trump effort to deport campus protester

The Anti-Defamation League welcomed the detention of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident who led pro-Palestinian campus protests that accused Israel’s military of “genocide” in Gaza and pushed the university to end investments in Israel.

“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism,” the ADL said. “We also hope that this action serves as a deterrent to others who might consider breaking the law on college campuses or anywhere.”

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said the the Trump administration “is exploiting real concerns about antisemitism to undercut democracy: from gutting education funding to deporting students to attacking diversity, equity, & inclusion. … this makes Jews — & so many others — less safe.”

▶ Read more on how Khalil became the face of campus protests

The US imposes sanctions on the Foxtrot Network

The Sweden-based group is suspected of orchestrating an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm in January 2024 on behalf of Iran, and of trafficking drugs and carrying out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe.

“Iran’s brazen use of transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime’s attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said.

“Treasury, alongside our U.S. government and international partners, will continue to hold accountable those who seek to further Iran’s thuggish and destabilizing agenda,” Bessent said.

Wisconsin governor: ‘This is a clown show we have to stop’

Gov. Tony Evers said he expects Democratic state attorneys general to sue over the Education Department cuts. A former teacher, school administrator and state superintendent, he joined two other former teachers, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, on a conference call.

Walz said Minnesota will prioritize schools, but states can’t possibly replace the federal education funding being cut. He said “this is undermining our economic well being for the future,” as well as “the moral authority that every child truly matters.”

Meyer said he and other governors spoke Tuesday with Education Secretary Linda McMahon, but are getting mixed messages: “I’m not sure they know what they’re doing,” he said.

Congressional hearing ends abruptly when GOP Rep. introduces transgender colleague as a man

Texas Republican Rep. Keith Self introduced the first openly transgender lawmaker in Congress as “Mr. McBride.”

Rep. Sarah McBride responded by referring to Self as “Madam Chair,” and tried to move on to her remarks.

But the subcommittee’s top Democrat, Rep. William Keating, called Self “out of order,” asking, “Have you no decency?”

Keating insisted that Self “introduce a duly elected representative the right way.”

Self adjourned the meeting instead.

Republican lawmakers have targeted McBride and refused to acknowledge trans people’s identity after Trump signed executive orders declaring only two sexes.

“No matter how I’m treated by some colleagues, nothing diminishes my awe and gratitude at getting to represent Delaware in Congress,” McBride later posted. “I simply want to serve and to try to make this world a better place.”

The United Nations secretary-general says there are no winners in a trade war

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday Guterres also warned against a looming trade war triggered by 25% steel and aluminum tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has leveled. “When we enter into a trade war, I believe all will lose,” Guterres told reporters.

Antonio Guterres was responding to a question on the threat of a trade war following tariffs imposed by Trump and retaliatory tariffs on American products, including by Canada, China and the European Union.

Guterres said we all live in a global economy where everything is interlinked.

“And obviously one of the great advantages of having a situation of free trade is to create conditions for all countries to benefit,” he told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

“When we enter into a trade war, I believe all will lose,” Guterres said.

▶ Read more on tariffs

Chinese commerce officials meet with Walmart representatives over tariffs

China’s state broadcaster CGTN says the Chinese officials warned the U.S retail giant that its demand for lower prices to absorb the impact from tariffs could disrupt the supply chain and hurt both sides.

CTGN indicated in its blog post that Beijing would like to see American and Chinese businesses working together to cope with the challenges caused by the tariffs.

Canadian Finance Minister: ‘We will not stand idly by’

Dominic LeBlanc says “our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted.”

LeBlanc said Canada’s reciprocal tariffs will kick in at midnight and cover such products as tools, computers and servers, display monitors, water heaters, sport equipment, and cast-iron products.

“The only constant in this unjustifiable trade war seems to be President Trump’s talk of annexing our country through economic coercion,” Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said. “Yesterday he called our a border a fictional line and repeated his disrespectful 51st state rhetoric.”

▶ Read more on Canada’s retaliatory tariffs

United Nations secretary-general calls Ukraine ceasefire proposal `a positive first step’

Antonio Guterres hopes Russia agrees and a ceasefire “will materialize.”

“And we hope that it will pave the way for peace — a just peace” he told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Guterres stressed in response to questions from reporters that a just peace must be based on the U.N. Charter, which requires every country to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all other countries, international law and U.N. General Assembly resolutions, which have demanded the withdrawal of all Russian troops.

Canada and Europe retaliate quickly to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs

Canada will announce retaliatory tariffs that add up to $21 billion in U.S. dollars.

That’s according to a senior Canadian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak before the announcement.

The European Union also announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.

Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S.

US inflation cooled last month, though trade war threatens to lift prices

U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as additional tariffs on steel and aluminum that kicked in Wednesday threaten to send prices higher.

The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed. Sticky inflation could create problems for Trump, who promised while campaigning to “knock the hell out of inflation.”

Grocery prices were unchanged overall last month from January, but the cost of eggs jumped 10.4% and are nearly 60% more expensive than a year ago.

▶ Read more about where consumer prices stand ahead of the impact of tariffs

China says US ‘abuse’ will be met resolutely

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the US had “seriously violated WTO rules” after President Donald Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.

Mao defended China’s retaliatory duties on US agricultural products, saying that “cooperation will bring about mutual benefit and win-win results, but the abuse of pressure certainly will be met with resolute countermeasures from China.”

JUST IN: AP sources say Canada will announce more than $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s metal tariffs.

Vance hosts Irish PM at vice president’s residence

JD Vance welcomed Micheál Martin to Washington with a breakfast reception, the first of several events during the Irish leader’s visit to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Next up is an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, a lunch on Capitol Hill and another White House event Wednesday afternoon.

Vance reminisced about a recent trip to Ireland and joked that his wife, Usha, could finally wear her green pants: “She’s had these in the closet for years.”

Martin thanked the United States for being “a steadfast friend” and praised Trump for working to end the war in Ukraine, saying “We are ready to play our part.”

Trump pressured Ukraine for a peace deal. Will it push Russia as well?

Rubio wouldn’t say as he spoke with reporters en route to talks with U.S. allies in Canada.

“We don’t think it’s constructive to stand here today and say what we’re going to do if Russia says no,” Rubio said, adding he wants to avoid statements about Russia that “are abrasive in any way.”

The Trump administration cut off military and intelligence support to Ukraine for a week to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s agreement to talks. Trump and Vice President JD Vance also angrily confronted Zelenskyy in a televised White House meeting.

Rubio did note that Biden administration sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his 2022 invasion of Ukraine remain in place.

Rubio defends arrest of pro-Palestinian Columbia student

The secretary of state says that if a green card holder supports Hamas, riles up anti-Jewish activities and shuts down college campuses, “we’re going to kick you out. It’s as simple as that.”

“This is not about free speech. This is about people that don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with. No one has a right to a student visa. No one has a right to a green card,” Rubio said.

Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident born in Syria who was a graduate student at Columbia until December, was detained Saturday and flown to an immigration jail in Louisiana.

Student leaders say their broad anti-war movement also includes Jewish students and groups and is not antisemitic.

▶ Read more on Columbia student’s detention

US says ball in Russia’s court on talks to end its war on Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is pursuing multiple points of contact to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate an end to his war against Ukraine.

“The ball is truly in their court,” Rubio said after mediation in Saudi Arabia saw Ukraine agree to start immediate talks with Russia on ending their three-year war.

Rubio spoke to reporters en route to Group of Seven talks with U.S. allies in Canada.

Rubio expressed hopes that Russia will stop attacks on Ukraine within the next few days as a first step, saying “It’s hard to start a process when people are shooting at each other and people are dying.”

▶ Read more on Russia-Ukraine ceasefire efforts

The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?

Officials have suggested other agencies could take over the Education Department’s major responsibilities once it’s dismantled.

But the question remains about what could happen with a more lofty part of its mission — promoting equal access for students in an American education system that is fundamentally unequal.

Without the department, advocates worry the federal government would not look out in the same way for poor students, those still learning English, disabled students and racial and ethnic minorities.

The equity goal of the Education Department, which was founded in 1980, emerged partly from the anti-poverty and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

Trump has said he wants to return all control of schools to states.

▶ Read more about the impact of the Education Department’s layoffs

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes rose Wednesday after Wall Street got some relief from an encouraging inflation update. But even on a rare up day for the market, President Donald Trump’s trade war still knocked stocks around.

The S&P 500 gained 0.5% after skidding between an early gain of 1.3% and a later loss. The unsettled trading came a day after the index briefly fell more than 10% below its all-time high set last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also pinballed sharply, careening between a rise of 287 points and a drop of 423. It ended with a loss of 82 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2%.

The inflation report, which showed overall prices rose less for U.S. consumers last month than economists expected, helped companies in the artificial-intelligence industry lead the way. It’s a bounce back after AI stocks got crushed recently by worries their prices had gone too stratospheric in the market’s run to record after record in recent years.

Nvidia climbed 6.4% to trim its loss for the year so far to 13.8%. Server-maker Super Micro Computer rose 4%, and GE Vernova, which is helping to power AI data centers, gained 5.1%.

Elon Musk’s Tesla, whose price had more than halved since mid-December, rallied 7.6% for its first back-to-back gain in nearly a month.

Even with such gains, though, more stocks in the S&P 500 fell than rose. Among the hardest hit were businesses that could be set to feel pain because of Trump’s trade war.

Brown-Forman, the company behind Jack Daniel’s whiskey, tumbled 5.1%, and Harley-Davidson sank 5.7%.

U.S. bourbon and motorcycles are just two of the products the European Union is targeting with its own tariffs announced on U.S. products. The moves were in response to Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that kicked in earlier in the day.

Canada also hit back with tariffs announced on U.S. tools, sports equipment and other products.

“We deeply regret this measure,” European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said. “Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers.”

The question hanging over Wall Street is how much pain Trump will let the economy endure through tariffs and other policies. He’s said he wants manufacturing jobs back in the United States, along with a smaller U.S. government workforce, more deportations and other things.

Even if Trump ultimately goes with milder tariffs, damage could still be done. The dizzying barrage of on -again, off -again announcements on tariffs has already begun sapping confidence among U.S. consumers and businesses by ramping up uncertainty. That could cause U.S. households and businesses to pull back on spending, which would hurt the economy.

On Tuesday, for example, Trump said he would double tariffs announced on Canadian steel and aluminum, only to walk it back later in the day after a Canadian province pledged to drop a retaliatory measure that had incensed Trump.

Several U.S. businesses have said they’ve already begun seeing a change in behavior among their customers.

Delta Air Lines sank 3% to compound its drop of 7.3% from the prior day, when the carrier said it’s seeing demand weaken for close-in bookings for its flights.

Casey’s General Stores, the Ankeny, Iowa-based company that runs nearly 2,900 convenience stores in 20 states, offered some encouragement. It reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected thanks in part to strength for sales of hot sandwiches and fuel. It also kept steady its forecast for upcoming revenue this year.

Casey’s stock rose 6.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 27.23 points to 5,599.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82.55 to 41,350.93, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 212.35 to 17,648.45.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe following mixed sessions in Asia.

In the bond market, Treasury yields edged up to regain more of their losses from recent months sparked by worries about the U.S. economy’s strength. The 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.28% late Tuesday and from 4.16% at the start of last week.

Wednesday’s better-than-expected inflation report gave some encouragement when worries are high that Trump’s tariffs could drive prices even higher for U.S. households after U.S. importers pass on the costs to their customers.

It’s also helpful for the Federal Reserve, which had been cutting interest rates last year to boost the economy before pausing this year, partly because of concerns about stubbornly high inflation.

Worries had been rising about a worst-case scenario for the economy and for the Fed, where economic growth stagnates but inflation remains high. The Fed has no good tool to fix such “stagflation” because lower interest rates can push inflation higher.

“Trends that would suggest a cold economy and hot inflation are still in the early stages, but uncertainty remains high,” according to Phil Segner, senior research analyst at Leuthold.

Or, as Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, said: “The tariff story is just beginning.”

___

AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.

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BRUSSELS (AP) — Major trade partners swiftly hit back at President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, imposing stiff new taxes on U.S products from textiles and water heaters to beef and bourbon.

Canada, the largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S., said Wednesday it will place 25% reciprocal tariffs on steel products and also raise taxes on a host of items: tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sports equipment, and cast-iron products.

Across the Atlantic, the European Union will raise tariffs on American beef, poultry, bourbon and motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans.

Combined, the new tariffs will cost companies billions of dollars, and further escalate the uncertainty in two of the world’s major trade partnerships. Companies will either take the losses and earn fewer profits, or, more likely, pass costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Prices will go up, in Europe and the United States, and jobs are at stake, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers,” von der Leyen said.

The EU duties aim for pressure points in the U.S. while minimizing additional damage to Europe. EU officials have made clear that the tariffs — taxes on imports — are aimed at products made in Republican-held states, such as beef and poultry from Kansas and Nebraska and wood products from Alabama and Georgia. The tariffs will also hit blue states such as Illinois, the No. 1 U.S. producer of soybeans, which are also on the list.

Spirits producers have become collateral damage in the dispute over steel and aluminum. The EU move “is deeply disappointing and will severely undercut the successful efforts to rebuild U.S. spirits exports in EU countries,” said Chris Swonger, head of the Distilled Spirits Council. The EU is a major destination for U.S. whiskey, with exports surging 60% in the past three years after an earlier set of tariffs was suspended.

Could there be an agreement that takes increasing tariffs off the table?

Von der Leyen said in a statement that the EU “will always remain open to negotiation.”

Canada’s incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows “respect for Canadian sovereignty″ and is willing to take ”a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade.″

Carney, who will be sworn in in the coming days, said workers in both countries will be better off when “the greatest economic and security partnership in the world is renewed, relaunched. That is possible.”

“We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” she said.

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU said the U.S. tariffs and EU countermeasures “will only harm jobs, prosperity and security on both sides of the Atlantic.” “The two sides must de-escalate and find a negotiated outcome urgently,” the chamber said Wednesday.

What will actually happen?

Trump slapped similar tariffs on EU steel and aluminum during his first term in office, which enraged European and other allies. The EU also imposed countermeasures in retaliation at the time, raising tariffs on U.S.-made motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans, among other items.

This time, the EU action will involve two steps. First on April 1, the commission will reimpose taxes that were in effect from 2018 and 2020, but which were suspended under the Biden administration. Then on April 13 come the additional duties targeting 18 billion euros ($19.6 billion) in U.S. exports to the bloc.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič traveled to Washington last month in an effort to head off the tariffs, meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other top trade officials.

He said on Wednesday that it became clear during the trip “that the EU is not the problem.”

“I argued to avoid the unnecessary burden of measures and countermeasures, but you need a partner for that. You need both hands to clap,” Šefčovič told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Canada is imposing, as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday 25% reciprocal tariffs on steel products worth $12.6 billion Canadian (US$8.7 billion) and aluminum products worth $3 billion Canadian (US$2 billion) as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion Canadian ($9.9 billion) for a total of $29.8 billion (US$20.6 billion.)

The list of additional products affected by counter-tariffs includes tools, computers and servers, display monitors, water heaters, sport equipment, and cast-iron products.

These tariffs are in addition to Canada’s 25% counter tariffs on $30 billion Canadian (US$20.8 billion) of imports from the U.S. that were put in place on March 4 in response to other Trump tariffs that he’s delayed by a month.

European steel companies brace for losses

The EU could lose up to 3.7 million tons of steel exports, according to the European steel association Eurofer. The U.S. is the second-biggest export market for EU steel producers, representing 16% of the total EU steel exports.

The EU estimates that annual trade volume between both sides stands at about $1.5 trillion, representing around 30% of global trade. While the bloc has a substantial export surplus in goods, it says that is partly offset by the U.S. surplus in the trade of services.

___

McHugh reported from Frankfurt and Gillies from Toronto. Jill Lawless contributed to this report from London.

___

A previous version of this story was corrected to show that Maroš Šefčovič’s title is EU trade commissioner, not European Commission vice president.

The budget is ‘too small’ for tax agenda

No one can say he wasn’t upfront about it.

“It’s good to have a strongman at the head of a country,” then-candidate Donald Trump declared at a New Hampshire campaign rally back in January 2024.

In his successful comeback bid, Trump spent the entire campaign praising strongman leaders, vowing to uproot the administration state and seek retribution against his political enemies and, asked to promise that he would never “abuse power as retribution against anybody” by Fox News host Sean Hannity in 2023, he replied “Except for day one.”

“We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator. OK?” Trump continued.

Since he assumed office just seven weeks ago, the second-term president has unleashed an unprecedented assault on the workings of the executive branch: challenging the independence of the Justice Department, firing independent inspectors general across 18 federal agencies, effectively shuttering watchdog agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and attempting to take operational control of independent agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission — which oversees Wall Street — and the Federal Election Commission — which oversees elections.

“All of these actions are setting up legal fights as to the scope of executive power,” said Tara Malloy, who directs appellate litigation and strategy at the Campaign Legal Center, a government watchdog group.

“That said, I fear that we should not see them as some sort of academic, legal argument or fight,” Malloy added. “This administration is attempting to exert control and authority over the operations of federal government in a way that’s unprecedented.”

The CLC is particularly opposed to Trump’s attempt to fire Ellen Weintraub, the chair of the Federal Election Commission. Independent agencies cannot be both neutral and fair enforcers of the law and simultaneously only answerable to the president, Malloy said.

“I think you can see the basic unfairness. If you were to flip the situation, if, for instance, the Biden administration had exerted presidential control over the FEC, would President Trump think that his 2024 campaign was getting a fair shake? This seems completely contrary to everything we know about Trump.”

The case for a more ‘energetic’ executive

Trump’s actions have sparked chaos across the executive branch, but there is a theory that ties it all together, according to John Yoo, a conservative legal scholar who served in the Justice Department under George W. Bush.

Prior to Watergate, American presidents enjoyed far fewer constraints on their power. After President Nixon resigned in scandal over his abuses of that power, Congress — under the control of Democrats at the time — spent years passing laws to constrain or check presidential power by, for instance, creating the inspectors general role to serve in federal agencies to report on waste, wrongdoing and inefficiencies.

“We’re still living with those laws today, and one way to understand what Trump is trying to do, and I’m not saying even that Trump understands this is what he’s doing, but the presidency, the way it’s designed, urges him to do it, as he’s trying to snap those bounds that were imposed on the presidency in the post-Watergate era,” Yoo said.

This idea, called the “unitary executive theory,” has long been popular in far-right conservative circles, and promoted in the conservative government blueprint Project 2025, but it is now being tested in real time by the Trump administration.

The argument, according to supporters like Yoo, is that the Constitution puts the power of the executive branch into one person, the president, and as a result the president should have the power to command the executive branch at will. In the simplest terms: the president can hire or fire whoever they want.

“Now, that can be risky or dangerous, of course, but [the founders] thought that was outweighed by the virtues of having a single person who could act quickly, could act with speed, could act with decision and capability,” Yoo said, “The famous phrase of Hamilton used is good government is defined by ‘energy and the executive.’ And to have that energy, you need to have the power in one person.”

Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller explained the administration’s view on Trump’s power during a Feb. 20 press briefing while discussing cuts made by White House adviser Elon Musk and his government efficiency project.

“A president is elected by the whole American people. He’s the only official in the entire government that is elected by the entire nation. Right? Judges are appointed. Members of Congress are elected at the district or state level. Just one man,” Miller said. “And the Constitution, Article Two, has a clause, known as the vesting clause, and it says, ‘The executive power shall be vested in a president,’ singular. The whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president. That president then appoints staff to then impose that democratic will onto the government.”

He went on to describe tenured civil servants “who believe they answer to no one” as a “threat to democracy.”

Watchdogs sounding the alarm 

Watchdogs say Trump’s actions are having a chilling effect not only on the forces of government aimed at stopping corruption, but also on the government officials who remain in these agencies waiting to see what happens next.

“I don’t think it’s inconsequential that removing the heads of those officers whose job it is to protect whistleblowers and prevent corruption and wrongdoing were the early targets of the Trump administration. I think what’s also important is the signal that that sends to all those who are left behind,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, which investigates corruption. “All of the offices and the laws that have been set up to prevent corruption and abuse of power are explicitly being targeted and undermined.”

Scott Greytak, director of Advocacy for Transparency International U.S. and an anti-corruption lawyer and advocate, was more measured.

“Multiple lights in the sky doesn’t necessarily mean there is a constellation, and I’m hoping there’s not a constellation, but it’s simply factually too early to tell,” he said, “I don’t think that this comes from some coordinated, whole-of-government nexus of corruption. I just don’t think we’re there yet. I think we’re going to find out if we get there, and we may find out as soon as in the next six months.”

The Trump administration has also yet to issue an executive order imposing ethical guidelines for his administration and high level political appointees — which presidents typically do — despite employing more billionaires than any cabinet in history with many financial conflicts before the government.

“I’m not saying that there is necessarily corruption in the administration, but I am saying that it creates a much bigger risk that there will be at least an appearance, and when that happens, there needs to be accountability, because we need to know, again, the government is operating in the public interest,” said Daniel Weiner, director of the elections and government program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a center-left research organization.

Who asked for this

There’s little evidence that the American public is clamoring for a more powerful president.

If anything, voters seem to like the separation of powers the way it is. According to 2024 polling by Vanderbilt University’s Unity poll, just six percent of Americans support increasing presidential power. The vast majority — 63 percent — were happy with the status quo.

Just last month, a CNN poll showed a narrow majority of Americans, 52%, say Trump has gone too far in exercising presidential power. However, a second-term president is not as captive to popular political sentiment since he is barred from appearing on the ballot again (although Trump has repeatedly raised the idea that he could challenge the two-term constitutional limit on the president).

For now, the check on Trump’s power is in federal courts, where more than 100 cases challenging his executive actions are underway.

But the courts move slowly and Trump has not shied away from criticizing judges, nor has his adviser, businessman Elon Musk, who has publicly called for some judges to face impeachment for rulings that have slowed or stopped Trump’s efforts to remake the federal government.

What’s at stake

There are scores of lawsuits making their way through the federal courts challenging the Trump administration’s actions, but Yoo said that is part of Trump’s strategy.

“Trump is clearly setting up a test case to go back to the Supreme Court,” said Yoo, who said the administration is likely to test a 1935 Supreme Court ruling that limits presidential power to remove certain officials serving in the executive branch. A 6-3 conservative Court is a more hospitable place for Trump to have that legal fight, and the Court has been sympathetic in recent years to these arguments.

In 2020 the Court ruled that the president had the power to fire the head of the CFPB. “It’s almost like Trump is heeding the call of the Supreme Court to test whether any of these independent agencies can really remain in the framework of our 18th century Constitution anymore,” Yoo said.

The Supreme Court already handed Trump nearly absolute power over the Justice Department in a 2024 ruling regarding presidential immunity — including the ability to have conversations about criminal cases and other enforcement actions.

If Trump is successful in breaking all or some of the binds put on the president in the post-Watergate era, it would usher in a new era of American politics with little or no independent checks on the president and politicized agencies.

Accountability could still come in two forms: the ballot box and the other branches of government. Voters can oust unpopular presidents and Congress can still pass laws to reign one in, as well as exercise the impeachment powers to remove a president.

While that might be true for future presidents, Trump is not as swayed by public opinion as a second-term president, and a Congress ruled by the same party is much more willing to acquiesce to the demands of the executive.

Yoo acknowledged the expanding executive power isn’t a one party advantage.

“It used to be after World War II, in the wake of FDR and Truman, Kennedy and LBJ, Democrats used to be the ones who liked the unitary executive, and it was Republicans like Taft who opposed it,” he said, “So I don’t think it’s a really Republican-Democrat thing at all. These reforms will ultimately play to an advantage of a Democratic president someday.”

Bernd Debusmann Jr

BBC News, White House

US officials are headed to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, according to President Donald Trump.

The news comes after Ukrainian officials agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following a highly anticipated meeting with American officials in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the “ball is truly in their [Russia’s] court” and that the US believes the only way to end the fighting is through peace negotiations.

The Kremlin has said it is studying the ceasefire proposal, and that a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is possible.

Following the meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.

Speaking alongside Ireland’s Taoiseach – or Prime Minister – Micheál Martin in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said he had received “positive messages” about the possibility of a ceasefire.

• UK helped Ukraine and US reach ceasefire deal – government sources
• US set to present 30-day ceasefire offer to Russia

“But a positive message means nothing,” he said. “This is a very serious situation.”

Trump did not specify what officials he was referring to.

However, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that National Security Secretary Mike Waltz spoke to his Russian counterpart.

Earlier this week, a source familiar told the BBC that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would head to Moscow for negotiations following the talks in Jeddah.

The White House confirmed the plans on Wednesday.

“We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan. This is the closest we have been to peace in this war,” Leavitt said.

The Kremlin has said it is studying the proposed ceasefire and further details, which spokesman Dmitry Peskov said will come “via various channels” over the course of the next several days.

In the Oval Office, Trump said that he believes a ceasefire would make sense for Russia, adding – without further details – that there is a “lot of downside to Russia” as well.

“We have a very complex situation solved on one side. Pretty much solved. We’ve also discussed land and other things that go with it,” Trump added. “We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”

To pressure Russia, Trump said that he “can do things financially”.

“That would be very bad for Russia,” he said. “I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”

The meeting in Jeddah was the first between US and Ukrainian officials since a 28 February meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Vice President JD Vance descended into a shouting match and, ultimately, a pause in US military assistance and intelligence sharing.

The pause was lifted following the meeting in Jeddah, and Trump said that he believes that the “difficult” Ukrainian side and Zelensky now want peace.

Even as negotiations over a potential ceasefire are ongoing, fighting has raged in Ukraine.

Russian drones and missiles reportedly struck targets in Kryvyy Rih – Zelensky’s hometown – overnight, as well as in the port city of Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv.

Clashes also continued in Russia’s Kursk region, where Peskov said Russian troops were “successfully advancing” and recapturing areas held by Ukrainian forces.

Paul Kirby, Bethany Bell & Adam Easton

In London, Rome & Warsaw

In Brussels, it was just after 06:00 on Wednesday. But it was midnight in Washington DC when President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium took effect on major US trading partners.

It took less than 10 minutes for the European Union to respond.

“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU’s initial countermeasures will take effect on US products on 1 April, ranging from jeans and motorbikes to peanut butter and bourbon, just as they were with the Trump administration’s first tariffs in 2018 and 2020.

But there will be more to come in mid-April. A whole swathe of textiles, home appliances, food and agricultural products could be included, depending on a two-week consultation with stakeholders.

A list of items almost 100 pages long is being circulated that features meat, dairy, fruit, wine and spirits, toilet seats, wood, coats, swimwear, nightdresses, shoes, chandeliers and lawnmowers.

For consumers, higher prices loom on Europe’s supermarket shelves, especially for American products. But for businesses and some industries, especially steel, there is real danger.

The head of Germany’s BGA federation of wholesale, foreign trade and service, Dirk Jandura, warned that Germans might have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for American products in the supermarkets.

Orange juice, bourbon and peanut butter were the most likely products to be hit. “Margins in trade are so low that this cannot be absorbed by the companies,” he said.

In total, the EU will target €26bn (£22bn) of US exports.

“We’re not going to go into hypotheticals other than to say we’ve been preparing assiduously for all these outcomes,” said EU spokesman Olof Gill.

António Costa, the EU’s Council President, called on the US to de-escalate, although there was little sign of that on Wednesday, as Trump vowed to hit back at the EU’s countermeasures.

“We’ve been abused for a long time and we will be abused no longer,” he said.

In Austria too, there was concern about the escalation.

“The US is the second most important export market for Austrian products after Germany – and the most important for Germany,” said Christoph Neumayer, who is head of the Federation of Austrian Industries. It was “essential that Europe acts together and decisively”, he added.

One EU official pointed out that products such as soybeans and orange juice could easily be sourced from Brazil or Argentina, so consumers would not be hit too hard.

And there was a suggestion that some of the US exports targeted were also from US states under Republican control: soybeans from Louisiana or meat from Nebraska and Kansas.

A relatively large number of US exports enter the EU via the Dutch port of Rotterdam or Antwerp in Belgium.

Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Dirk Beljaarts said nobody stood to benefit from a “tariffs war”, but he was hopeful it would not hit his own country’s economy too hard: “It has an impact on companies and consumers – particularly consumers in the US.”

One area that will be hit especially hard on both sides of the Atlantic is in the drinks sector.

Pauline Bastidon of Spirits Europe said producers in the EU and US stood united, with risks facing European companies that produced US spirits and US companies that were heavily invested in Europe.

Chris Swonger, of the US Distilled Spirits Council, said that in the three years since the suspension of the EU’s earlier 25% tariff on American whiskey, US distillers had “worked hard to regain solid footing in our largest export market”.

Reimposing tariffs from 1 April was “deeply disappointing” and he called for a return to “zero-for-zero” tariffs.

For cognac producers in France, the prospect of a 25% US import tax is also a major problem as most of their produce is for export, either to the US or China.

French producers have already been hit by Chinese measures that have slapped heavy taxes on cognac.

“Morale is down in the dumps,” Bastien Brusaferro of the general winegrowers’ union told France Info.

Thousands of jobs are at stake in the Charente region alone, he says: “Cognac is a product that’s made for export.”

There was a dire warning too from the head of the European Steel Association, Henrik Adam.

“President Trump’s ‘America First’ policy threatens to be a final nail in the coffin of the European steel industry,” he warned.

Trump’s initial tariffs on European steel in 2018 saw EU steel exports to the US fall by more than a million tonnes, and for every three tonnes of steel that did not enter the US, two-thirds of it entered the EU instead.

“These new measures imposed by Trump are more extensive, therefore the impact of the US tariffs is likely to be far greater.”

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News Analysis

The system America took 80 years to assemble proved surprisingly fragile in the face of Trump’s assault, a revolution in how the country exercises power across the globe.

News Analysis

Power, Money, Territory: How Trump Shook the World in 50 Days

The system America took 80 years to assemble proved surprisingly fragile in the face of Trump’s assault, a revolution in how the country exercises power across the globe.

Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

By David E. Sanger

David E. Sanger has covered six American presidencies and writes often on the revival of superpower competition, the subject of his latest book.

• Published March 11, 2025Updated March 12, 2025, 3:10 p.m. ET

In a span of only 50 days, President Trump has done more than any of his modern predecessors to hollow out the foundations of an international system that the United States painstakingly erected in the 80 years since it emerged victorious from World War II.

Without formally declaring a reversal of course or offering a strategic rationale, he has pushed the United States to switch sides in the Ukraine war, abandoning all talk about helping a nascent, flawed democracy defend its borders against a larger invader. He did not hesitate when he ordered the United States to vote with Russia and North Korea — and against virtually all of America’s traditional allies — to defeat a U.N. resolution that identified Moscow as the aggressor. His threats to take control of the Panama Canal, Greenland, Gaza and, most incredibly, Canada, sound predatory, including his claim Tuesday that the border with America’s northern ally is an “artificial line of separation.”

He cut Ukraine off from arms and even American commercial satellite imagery, partly out of pique over his blowup in the Oval Office with President Volodymyr Zelensky, but largely because the Ukrainian president insists on a guarantee that the West would come to his country’s aid if Russia rebuilds and reinvades.

Mr. Trump has imposed tariffs on his allies after describing them as leeches on the American economy. And he has so damaged trust among the NATO allies that France is discussing extending its country’s small nuclear umbrella over Europe, and Poland is thinking of building its own atomic weapon. Both fear the United States can no longer be counted on to act as the alliance’s ultimate defender, a core role it created for itself when the NATO treaty was written.

No one knows how successful Mr. Trump will be in ripping asunder what every American president since Harry Truman has built — an era of institution-building that Mr. Truman’s secretary of state memorialized in a book entitled “Present At the Creation.” To live in Washington these days is to feel as if one is present at the destruction.

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