中国日报网 | 2024年03月02日 20:29:07 美国杂志《政客》近日援引英国某知名汽车制造商的消息称，英国商业贸易部对中国电动汽车反补贴的“调查之轮已经开始转动” ... 为寻求“自我保护”，部分英国本土汽车制造商一直敦促英国政府展开相关调查。他们担心，若欧盟在今年晚些时候完成对中国电动汽车的反补贴调查，并决定向中国电动汽车增收关税，那么中国的电动汽车将流向英国

Donald Trump’s economic advisers are eyeing aggressive new legal justifications to impose tariffs on all imports, seeking to buttress a second-term plan that would reshape the U.S. economy, according to public and private comments by top aides. On the campaign trail, Trump has [repeatedly promised](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/22/trump-trade-tariffs/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4) to enact a “ring” around the U.S. economy by enacting a tariff of at least 10 percent on goods imported from any other nation. Trump’s plan would target more than $3 trillion in annual imports and [risks sending inflation soaring](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/07/trump-economy-inflation-biden-campaign/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4) in what probably would prove the biggest escalation of trade hostilities in decades, ratcheting up the standoffs that marked his first term.

President Biden has notably decided not to roll back any of the original tariffs that his predecessor imposed on Chinese products.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times Former President Donald J. Trump has pledged new efforts to sever trade between the United States and China if he is elected to a second term.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times Joseph R. Biden Jr. ran for the White House as a sharp critic of President Donald J. Trump’s crackdown on trade with China. In office, though, he has taken Mr. Trump’s trade war with Beijing and escalated it, albeit with a very different aim. The two men, locked in a rematch election this fall, [share a rhetorical fondness](https://nytimes.com/2024/04/17/us/politics/biden-trump-china-tariffs.html) for beating up on China’s economic practices, including accusing the Chinese of cheating at global trade. They also share a building-block policy for countering Beijing: hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, or taxes, on Chinese imports. Those tariffs were first imposed by Mr. Trump and have been maintained by President Biden. On Tuesday, [Mr. Biden will announce](https://nytimes.com/2024/05/14/us/politics/biden-china-tariffs.html) that he is increasing some of those tariffs. That includes quadrupling electric vehicle tariffs to 100 percent, tripling certain levies on steel and aluminum products to 25 percent, and doubling the rate on semiconductors to 50 percent. But Mr. Biden’s trade war differs from Mr. Trump’s in important ways. Mr. Trump was trying to bring back a broad swath of factory jobs outsourced to China. Mr. Biden is seeking to increase production and jobs in a select group of emerging high-tech industries — including clean energy sectors, like electric vehicles, that Mr. Trump shows little interest in cultivating. Mr. Biden has pulled more policy levers, some of them created by Mr. Trump. He has imposed more restrictions on trade with China, including limiting sales of American technology to Beijing, while funneling federal subsidies to American manufacturers trying to compete with Chinese production. And in a sharp break from Mr. Trump’s go-it-alone posture, Mr. Biden’s strategy relies on bringing international allies together to counter China through a mix of [domestic incentives](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/us/politics/biden-industrial-policy.html) and, potentially, coordinated tariffs on Chinese goods. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F14%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbiden-trump-china-trade.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F14%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbiden-trump-china-trade.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F14%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbiden-trump-china-trade.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F14%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbiden-trump-china-trade.html).

The EU has notified Beijing that it intends to impose tariffs of up to 38% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, triggering duties of more than €2bn (£1.7bn) a year and a potential trade war with [China](https://www.theguardian.com/world/china). The tariffs will be applied provisionally from next month in line with World Trade Organization rules, which give China four weeks to challenge any evidence the EU provides to justify the levies on imported EVs. The move follows a nine-month investigation into alleged unfair state subsidies into Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEVs) including top brands such as BYD and Geely, which part owns the Swedish brand Polestar, and Shanghai’s SAIC, which owns the British brand MG. “The provisional findings of the EU anti-subsidy investigation indicate that the entire BEV value chain benefits heavily from unfair subsidies in China, and that the influx of subsidised Chinese imports at artificially low prices therefore presents a threat of clearly foreseeable and imminent injury to EU industry,” the EU said in a statement. Under the plan, the EU will apply five levels of tariffs. EV manufacturers that cooperated with Brussels investigators will face a tariff of 21%, while those who did not will be hit with the top tier of 38.1%. SAIC faces the top tariff, Geely faces a tariff of 20%, while a 17.4% duty will be applied to BYD brands, which include the Dolphin and Seal cars launched in the EU last year. It is understood that Tesla cooperated with the EU and may initially face the 21% tariff. The EU indicated this could be revised next month to its own individually calculated duty rate after assessing evidence submitted by the US company. The EU vice-president Margaritis Schinas said the provisional results of the investigation showed the car production in China benefited from “unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU battery electric vehicles producers”. He added that the EU had “reached out the Chinese authorities to discuss these findings and possible ways to resolve the issue”. European manufacturers are also bracing themselves for a hit from retaliatory measures, with the value of all EU vehicles exported valued at close to €200bn in 2023 making China the bloc’s third most important market by share (10%) after the US and the UK. The EU [is fully expecting China](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/09/eu-import-tariffs-chinese-electric-vehicles) to also impose counter duties on a range of its exports, from French cognac to dairy products. But insiders say the question of overcapacity of China’s car manufacturers is now becoming a domestic issue in many economies around the world. Chinese-made electric car sales, including foreign brands such as Tesla, accounted for 21.7% of the EU market in 2023 a massive leap from the 2.9% in 2020. In December last year the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, tried to persuade China that access to the world’s largest open economy was conditional on a level playing field, arguing that China could not just dump the surplus of products in the bloc. The EU charges non-EU car manufacturers a 10% levy on imports and tariffs. . While the EU argues that Chinese manufacturers can easily absorb the increased levies, they are bracing themselves for a testing trade war with Beijing. The assumption is that China’s president, Xi Jinping, will see it as a battle of strength which he must win as green tech is one of the few sectors in which the country’s economy is growing. However, senior sources say that the question of EV dumping is also causing concern in non-EU member states and there is a determination to ensure that China cannot have global dominance in electric cars and other green tech products. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/12/eu-import-tariffs-chinese-evs-electric-vehicles-trade-war#EmailSignup-skip-link-16) Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion The subject is expected to come up at the G7 summit in Italy on Thursday with the EU hoping to persuade other leaders that the response to China’s overcapacity in cars, steel and other items including solar panels and electric vehicle batteries needs to be “targeted”. Sources point to Joe Biden’s recent decision [to slap 100% tariffs on Chinese EV imports](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/14/joe-biden-tariff-chinese-made-electric-vehicles) and argue that all partners in the G7 should not take unilateral measures that would damage another partner in the group. Turkey has also announced tariffs on Chinese EVs of 40%. There are fears that the raising of tariffs in the US will have a knock-on effect in Europe, with China pivoting even more exports to the EU. According to those familiar with the subject, there are also worries among G7 members that overcapacity of Chinese production could hit emerging economies such as Brazil, Mexico and India. Leaders gathering at the G7 are expected to raise the topic of small Chinese banks funding deals with Russia amid concern this is bolstering the Kremlin’s war effort. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the prospect of tariffs was “protectionism”. Lin Jian told a press briefing in Beijing that politicians and industry representatives from many European countries had expressed opposition to Brussels on the matter of tariffs, in what could be a reference to Germany, which is concerned about counter-measures on its own car exports to China. “Protectionism has no future, and openness and cooperation are the right way, Lin said.

The owner of the Jeep, Fiat and Vauxhall brands has said it will not take a defensive stance in the battle for electric car sales, amid signs of an escalating trade war in the market between [Europe](https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) and China. Stellantis’s chief executive, Carlos Tavares, has criticised the EU tariffs on imported Chinese cars [announced on Wednesday](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/12/eu-import-tariffs-chinese-evs-electric-vehicles-trade-war) and said the world’s fourth biggest carmaker preferred to “fight to stay competitive”. The European Commission intends to apply additional duties of up to 38.1% on imported China-made electric cars from July, a move that Beijing is likely to retaliate against. Europe’s car industry had been opposed to the tariffs, with German carmakers the most exposed to a trade war as almost a third of their sales came from China last year. “The German industry is very much exposed to Chinese business and this is the reason why Germany is expressing a negative option about those tariffs,” Tavares told journalists after an investor day. He added: “Correcting the tariff is correcting a lack of competitiveness… We prefer to race than to be told that we are going to be protected, because we do not believe that being protected is a long-lasting competitive position for a company like ours. “We are going to fight to be as competitive as we should be in the performance of the products, in the range, in the affordability; we’re going to compete because we are a global company.” Tavares said Stellantis would stick to its “asset-light” strategy in China, focused on exporting to the country rather than manufacturing there. Stellantis was created in 2021 from the [€40bn merger](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/31/fiat-chrysler-and-psa-peugeot-agree-35bn-merger#:~:text=Fiat%20Chrysler%20and%20Peugeot%20owner,merger%20%7C%20Automotive%20industry%20%7C%20The%20Guardian) between Italy’s Fiat Chrysler and the French owner of Peugeot, PSA. “What is clear is that we don’t want to be defensive,” he told investors in Michigan. “Our strategy, that remains an asset-light strategy, is about making sure that we are ourselves offensive and surfing the wave of the Chinese offensive. Our asset-light strategy in China is much more robust than that of many of our competitors.” Stellantis has bought a 21% stake in the Chinese carmaker Leapmotor and has formed a joint venture with it allowing the European company to sell and manufacture Leapmotor’s vehicles outside China. [Stellantis](https://www.theguardian.com/business/stellantis) leads the venture with a 51% stake and plans to export two electric vehicle models from China by the end of the year. The new EU tariffs come on top of the existing 10% levy on cars imported into the EU, meaning some Chinese-made electric cars face total tariffs of up to 48%. The tariffs are aimed at [countering the alleged state support](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/12/how-will-new-eu-tariffs-on-chinese-electric-vehicles-work) handed to China’s car manufacturing industry, which has allowed it to sell cars abroad at cheaper prices than those of global rivals. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/13/stellantis-says-it-will-fight-for-electric-car-sales-rather-than-hide-behind-tariffs#EmailSignup-skip-link-11) Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion China criticised the EU tariffs on Thursday as protectionist behaviour and said it hoped the European bloc would correct its “wrong practices”. Stellantis shares closed 2.8% lower, similar to other European carmakers, due to uncertainty over how Beijing would respond to the tariffs. Tavares said that at least two of Stellantis’s plants in the US needed “significant turnaround”. “We know what to do,” he said.

If not for the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Easy Signs would now be hiring dozens of workers at its factory in Allentown, Pa. It would be readying plans to build a second plant somewhere out West — Salt Lake City was a contender — generating another 100 jobs. Based in Australia, Easy Signs manufactures banners and marketing installations for corporate events, using huge printers to press logos and slogans onto rolls of cloth. Its American business has been growing 70 percent a year. Still, the company is putting off an expansion. Its cloth signs are displayed on aluminum stands made in China. Those products are now subject to a series of tariffs reaching as high as 365 percent under a [policy](https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2018/june/ustr-issues-tariffs-chinese-products) set in motion by former President Donald J. Trump and continued by the Biden administration in the name of protecting American industry from Chinese government subsidies. The costs of imported components could increase further should Mr. Trump win November’s presidential election and follow through on his threat to add a tariff of [60 percent](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/27/us/politics/trump-trade-tariffs-imports.html) or more on all Chinese goods, and 10 percent to all imports. “That’s definitely a scary concept,” said Andy Fryer, co-founder of Easy Signs. “The whole feasibility goes out the window.” The Allentown, Pa., factory of Easy Signs. Credit...Aaron Richter for The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F19%2Fbusiness%2Fchina-us-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F19%2Fbusiness%2Fchina-us-trade-war.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F19%2Fbusiness%2Fchina-us-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F19%2Fbusiness%2Fchina-us-trade-war.html).

European milk and cheese producers have become the latest target in a simmering trade war with China BEIJING -- European milk and cheese producers have become the latest target in [a simmering trade war](https://apnews.com/article/china-eu-tariffs-ev-trade-e21cc7386a7e2ce6370b948ecba5adb9) with China. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Wednesday that it would launch an investigation into subsidies given by the European Union and EU member countries for dairy products that could lead to tariffs on their export to China. The announcement came one day after the EU released a draft decision to finalize tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, in a follow-up to [provisional tariffs](https://apnews.com/article/europe-china-electric-vehicles-customs-trade-705e8f18964b2e77ec076675522bcc83) announced last month. The tariffs have been denounced by the Chinese government and automakers and threaten to set back the industry's efforts to go global. The dairy investigation will cover a range of products including fresh and processed cheese, blue cheese and milk and cream with a fat content of more than 10%, a Commence Ministry notice said. It will look at subsidies under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy as well as those given by eight European Union countries including Italy, Finland and Croatia. The Commerce Ministry previously opened investigations into European brandy and [pork exports](https://apnews.com/article/china-eu-pork-ev-tariff-31a110502889141200bfb0d99be3f59a) at various stages of the EU investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles. The tit-for-tat investigations have raised fears that a full-blown trade war could be gradually emerging. “Regrettably, the use of trade defense instruments by one government is increasingly being responded to seemingly in kind by the recipient government,” the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement. China also filed [a complaint with the World Trade Organization](https://apnews.com/article/china-eu-wto-ev-tariffs-46e93252625475e1af0e023282802705) after the EU announced the provisional tariffs on China-made EVs. The EU Commission said Tuesday that it is confident that its investigation and provisional tariffs comply with WTO rules. The EU's draft decision on final EV tariffs made mostly minor modifications to the provisional rates. Autos exported by BYD, the largest EV maker in China, would face a 17% tariff, while those from Shanghai-based SAIC Motor would be hit with the highest rate of 36.3%. Tesla, which exports autos from China, was given a tariff of 9% “at this stage” after it requested an examination of the specific subsidies it had received, the EU Commission said. The tariffs are subject to the approval of the EU member states. A final decision must be made by early November, four months after the July 5 effective date of the provisional tariffs.

In a sprawling factory in eastern Shanghai, where marshy plains have long since been converted into industrial parks, China’s most advanced chipmaker has been hard at work testing the limits of U.S. authority. [Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation](https://www.nytimes.com/topic/company/semiconductor-manufacturing-international-corporation), or SMIC, is manufacturing chips with features less than one-15,000th of the thickness of a sheet of paper. The chips pack together enough computing power to create advancements like artificial intelligence and 5G networks. It’s a feat that has been achieved by just a few companies globally — and one that has landed SMIC in the middle of a crucial geopolitical rivalry. U.S. officials say such advanced chip technology is central not just to commercial businesses [but also to military superiority](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/04/technology/china-ai-microchips.html). They have been fighting to keep it out of Chinese hands, by barring China from buying both the world’s most cutting-edge chips and the machinery to make them. Whether China can advance and outrace the United States technologically now hinges on SMIC, a partly state-backed company that is the sole maker of advanced chips in the country and has become its de facto national semiconductor champion. SMIC pumps out millions of chips a month for other companies that design them, such as Huawei, the Chinese technology firm under U.S. sanctions, as well as American firms like Qualcomm. So far, SMIC hasn’t been able to produce chips as advanced as those of rivals such as [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/technology/the-chip-titan-whose-lifes-work-is-at-the-center-of-a-tech-cold-war.html) in Taiwan, or others in South Korea and the United States. But it is racing forward with a new A.I. chip for Huawei called the Ascend 910C, which is expected to be released this year. Huawei’s chip is not as fast or sophisticated as the [coveted processors](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/technology/nvidia-quarterly-earnings-results.html) from Nvidia, the U.S. chip giant, which the White House has [banned for sale](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/business/economy/biden-chip-technology.html) in China. SMIC can also most likely make only a small fraction of what Chinese firms want to buy, experts said. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F16%2Ftechnology%2Fsmic-china-us-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F16%2Ftechnology%2Fsmic-china-us-trade-war.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F16%2Ftechnology%2Fsmic-china-us-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F16%2Ftechnology%2Fsmic-china-us-trade-war.html).

The global economy has managed to avoid falling into a recession even though the world’s central banks have raised interest rates to their highest levels in years to try to tame rapid inflation, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. But the I.M.F., in a new report, also cautioned that escalating violence in the Middle East and the prospect of a new round of trade wars stemming from political developments in the United States remain significant threats. New economic forecasts released by the fund on Tuesday showed that the global fight against soaring prices has largely been won: Global output is expected to hold steady at 3.2 percent this year and next. Fears of a widespread post-pandemic contraction have been averted, but the fund warned that many countries still face a challenging mix of high debt and sluggish growth. The report was released as finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world convened in Washington for the annual meetings of the I.M.F. and the World Bank. The gathering is taking place two weeks ahead of a presidential election in the United States that could result in a major shift toward protectionism and tariffs if former President Donald J. Trump is elected. Mr. Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board tariffs of as much as 50 percent, most likely setting off retaliation and trade wars. Economists think that could fuel price increases and slow growth, [possibly leading to a recession.](https://www.aei.org/economics/the-economic-consequences-of-a-second-trump-presidency/) “Fear of a Trump presidency will loudly reverberate behind the scenes,” said Mark Sobel, a former Treasury official who is now the U.S. chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. Mr. Sobel said global policymakers would probably be wondering what another Trump presidency would “mean for the future of multilateralism, international cooperation, U.S.-China stresses and their worldwide ripples, and global trade and finance, among others.” Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F10%2F22%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fimf-inflation-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F10%2F22%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fimf-inflation-trade-war.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F10%2F22%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fimf-inflation-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F10%2F22%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fimf-inflation-trade-war.html).

The world economy could contract by the size of the combined French and German economies, if there is a broad-based trade war between the world’s major economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the BBC. It comes as concerns are heightened ahead of the possible re-election of Donald Trump. Trump says he plans to introduce a universal tax or tariff of up to 20% on all imports into the US, while the European Union is already planning retaliation if Washington goes ahead with the new levy. Last week, Trump said “tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary”, and global markets and finance ministers are now beginning to take seriously the prospect of him enacting the ideas. IMF first deputy managing director Gita Gopinath said the Fund could not yet assess the specifics of Trump's trade plans, but thinks that “if you have some very serious decoupling and broad scale use of tariffs, you could end up with a loss to world GDP of close to 7%". "These are very large numbers, 7% is basically losing the French and German economies. That's the size of the loss that would be," she continued. Ms Gopinath also said tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars “is very different from the world we’ve lived in over the past two of three decades”. The IMF’s deputy chief said another of the Fund’s main messages at its Annual Meetings was to warn on ballooning levels of global government debt. She said the current period of steady economic growth was a “moment to rebuild your fiscal buffers” as “this will not be the last crisis. There will be additional shocks. You will need the fiscal space to respond. And now is the time to do it”. Ms Gopinath said it was also necessary to “look at the bright side” with a resilient world economy after “some very tough knocks”. She suggested the world economy had seen a soft landing from the multiple crises. “Past experiences with bringing down inflation have not been with a soft landing. It was a big, big increases in unemployment. So that was a big hit, and it has turned out to be much better than many feared”, she said. Ms Gopinath added that it was a “good win” for central banks everywhere that inflation has come down without high unemployment. But that now was the time to rebuild resilience in a fragile world.

Donald Trump vowed on his campaign that he would tax all goods imported into the US if he won back the White House. Following his victory, businesses and economists around the world are scrambling to work out how serious he is. Trump sees tariffs as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue. In the past, he has targeted tariffs at individual countries such as China or certain industries, for example steel. But Trump's election campaign pledge to impose taxes of 10% to 20% on all foreign goods could affect prices all over the world. Last month, he appeared to single out Europe. "The European Union sounds so nice, so lovely, right? All the nice European little countries that get together... They don’t take our cars. They don't take our farm products," he said. "They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they are going to have to pay a big price." BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen shares all fell between 5% and 7% after Trump's victory confirmation. The US is the single biggest export market for German carmakers. During his campaign, Trump said tariffs were the answer to myriad issues, including containing China and preventing illegal immigration. "Tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary," he said. It is a weapon he clearly intends to use. While much of this rhetoric and action is aimed at China it does not end there. Some jurisdictions like the EU are already drawing up lists of pre-emptive retaliatory actions against the US, after ministers did not take seriously enough Trump's earlier threats of tariffs, which he later imposed. G7 finance ministers told me last week they would try to remind a Trump-led America of the need for allies in the world economy because "the idea is not to launch a trade war". However if "a very strong broad power is used", Europe would quickly consider its response. In the past the EU imposed tariffs on iconic American products such as Harley Davidson motorcycles, bourbon whiskey and Levi's jeans in response to US duties on steel and aluminium. A top Eurozone central banker told me US tariffs alone were "not inflationary in Europe but it depends on what Europe's reaction will be". Last month [the IMF told me](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1lg5reqlpyo ) a major trade war could hit the world economy by 7%, or the size of the French and German economies combined. There are very big questions for the UK government about where exactly the post-Brexit UK should seat itself in a plausible, if not certain, transatlantic trade war. The direction of travel until now for the UK has been to get closer to the EU, including on food and farm standards. This would make a close trade deal with the US very difficult. The Biden administration was uninterested in such a deal. Trump's still highly influential top trade negotiator Bob Lighthizer even said an assumption that the UK would stay close to the EU to help its own businesses had prevented him from pursuing a deal. "They are a much bigger trade partner to you than we are," [he told me in an interview.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000r87n) The UK could try and remain neutral, but would struggle to avoid the crossfire, especially for the goods trade in pharmaceuticals and cars. The rhetoric from the UK government suggests it could try to be a peacemaker in global trade wars, but would anyone listen? Britain could pick a side, by trying to be exempted from more general Trump tariffs. Diplomats have been heartened by more pragmatic economic advisers to the President-elect suggesting that friendly allies might get a better deal. Or would the world benefit more if the UK joined forces with the EU to head off the application of such trade tariffs? Away from the US, what about the example to the rest of the world? If the world's biggest economy is resorting to mass protectionism, it's going to be difficult to persuade many smaller economies not to do the same. All of this is very much up for grabs. Trump's warnings can be taken at face value. Nothing is certain, but this is how very serious trade wars can start.

 2024年11月8日，匈牙利，欧委会主席冯德莱恩、匈牙利总理欧尔班、欧洲理事会主席米歇尔。图片来源：视觉中国 > 记者 | 安晶 > > 编辑｜刘海川 当地时间2024年11月7日到8日，欧洲政治共同体峰会在匈牙利首都布达佩斯召开。包括乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基在内的40多名欧洲领导人重点讨论两个问题：如何应对美国当选总统唐纳德·特朗普可能掀起的关税大战以及乌克兰的未来 ... 特朗普计划对所有进口商品征收10%到20%的关税，对中国商品征收60%或更高关税。本周胜选后，特朗普还对欧盟发出新警告，指责欧盟向美国出售汽车，但不买美国车和美国农产品，“你们要付出代价。” 美国大选投票开始之前，欧盟已经着手为特朗普的可能归来制定方案，包括报复性关税措施。但在特朗普最终亮剑之前，欧盟准备先向其示好，试图说服特朗普回心转意

Eight years ago, when a newly elected Donald J. Trump promised to apply the powers of the Oval Office to start a trade war with China, the target of his ire was widely viewed as a juggernaut. China was the indispensable factory floor to the world and a swiftly developing market for goods and services. As Mr. Trump now prepares for his second stint in the White House, he is vowing to intensify trade hostilities with China by imposing additional [tariffs of 60 percent](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/business/economy/trump-tariffs-trade-what-to-know.html) or more on all Chinese imports. He is pressuring a country that has been chastened by a powerful combination of overlapping forces: the calamitous end of a [real estate](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/business/china-foreclosures-mortgages.html) investment binge, incalculable losses in the [banking system](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/30/business/china-evergrande-banks-property.html), a local government [debt crisis](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/business/china-debt-moodys-outlook.html), flagging [economic growth](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/business/china-gdp-third-quarter.html) and chronically [low prices](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/07/business/china-pinduoduo-ecommerce.html) — a potential harbinger of long-term stagnation. The decline of fortunes at home has made Chinese companies especially focused on sales abroad. And that makes the country vulnerable to any threat to its export growth, a weakness that would enhance the expected pressure from the Trump administration as it plans to seek a deal that would increase Chinese purchases of American goods. “The balance of power has certainly shifted in favor of the United States,” said Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University who was previously the head of the China division at the International Monetary Fund. “The Chinese economy is not quite on the ropes, but it has been struggling for a while.” Yet complicating factors beneath that widely shared assessment may strengthen China’s ability to endure whatever measures the incoming Trump administration may have in store. Consumer spending in China has slumped, but the government has significant resources to stoke the domestic economy.Credit...Qilai Shen for The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F11%2Fbusiness%2Ftrump-china-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F11%2Fbusiness%2Ftrump-china-trade-war.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F11%2Fbusiness%2Ftrump-china-trade-war.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F11%2Fbusiness%2Ftrump-china-trade-war.html).

∙ [大国外交 >](/list_122905) 近段时间，美国当选总统特朗普的新一届内阁人选名单正逐步释出。关税被视为特朗普经济政策的核心，谁将出任美国商务部长一直备受外界关注 ... 据央视新闻11月20日报道，特朗普提名金融公司Cantor Fitzgerald的首席执行官霍华德·卢特尼克出任商务部长。当地时间19日，特朗普在个人社交平台发表声明称，卢特尼克将领导新一届政府的关税和贸易议程，并将直接负责美国贸易代表办公室的工作。随后，卢特尼克表达了对特朗普的感谢，“作为下一任商务部长，我将加入美国有史以来最好的政府，并充分释放我们的经济潜力。” 在经济政策上，卢特尼克与特朗普的言论保持一致，是其对外广泛征收关税的主要支持者。据美国消费者新闻与商业频道（CNBC）报道，大选期间卢特尼克常称赞特朗普的经济愿景，“终于有人来保护美国工人了”

Donald Trump imposing massive US tariffs on Chinese imports could drag down global inflation by lowering the price of goods in other countries, a senior [Bank of England](https://www.theguardian.com/business/bankofenglandgovernor) policymaker has said. Swati Dhingra, an external member of the Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee, said Trump imposing a threatened [60% tariff on goods from China](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/07/more-tariffs-less-red-tape-what-trump-will-mean-for-key-global-industries) sold in the US could lead Chinese exporters to cut their prices elsewhere to ensure they maintained current trade volumes. “If there is the kind of big 60% type of tariff increase that’s been proposed, that will have repercussions on to world prices, and mostly on the downward direction,” she said. Speaking at a conference in London on Monday, the economist said there was heightened uncertainty about what policies the president-elect would carry through from the campaign trail. Trump warned before this month’s election that he would slap tariffs of up to 60% on [China](https://www.theguardian.com/world/china) and up to 20% on other US trade partners. However, Dhingra said the “textbook” impact of the world’s largest goods importer imposing such a large tariff on products from the world’s biggest exporter would be for global goods prices to fall. Chinese firms would respond to tougher trade barriers by attempting to find buyers in alternative markets, which could lead them to lower their prices to sell similar volumes, including in the UK, she said. “It takes a massive amount of demand out of the world market. The way exporters, say in China, would respond to that would be to respond with prices, world prices, as they don’t want to lose market share,” she said. Economists have warned Trump imposing punitive import tariffs on US trading partners will [drive up inflation in the world’s largest economy](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/06/inflation-looks-to-have-secured-trump-win-but-his-policies-mean-higher-prices), as the costs would be borne by US consumers. However, it would also affect the wider global economy. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/25/trump-tariff-on-china-could-lower-global-inflation-says-bank-economist#EmailSignup-skip-link-9) Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion Dhingra said much would depend on the response to a burgeoning trade war, particularly if governments chose to retaliate with “tit for tat” tariffs on US imports, or with protectionist measures to prevent an influx of cheap Chinese goods reallocating away from the US market. “Then we’re in a completely different situation,” she said. Drawing a comparison with Brexit, Dhingra said that leaving the EU had led to “permanently” higher prices of products for British households. This had generated inflation as prices rose, before prices stabilised at a higher level. “We saw much higher price increases in the UK compared to everywhere else and those pressures have now come off much more quickly as well, for the reason they’re not inflationary, they change the price levels, permanently,” she said. Analysts have warned that the euro [risks falling to parity with the US dollar](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/25/possible-europe-us-trade-war-could-push-euro-into-parity-with-the-dollar) for the first time since late 2022 if a new transatlantic trade war weakens the already struggling eurozone economy.

China banned exports of minerals and metals used in semiconductor manufacturing and military applications to the United States on Tuesday, escalating tensions in the growing technology trade war between the world's two largest economies. The commerce ministry [halted shipments](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-bans-exports-gallium-other-102308172.html) of gallium, germanium, antimony and related compounds, citing national security concerns. These materials are crucial components in advanced electronics and military hardware, with China controlling 98% of global gallium production and 60% of germanium output, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. The move comes in direct response to Washington's new restrictions on semiconductor exports to China, including controls on high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems and limits on manufacturing equipment sales.

Many US midwestern grain farmers will lose money this year after reaping a bumper crop, and the outlook for their future income is bleak. [US farmers](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-farm-workers) harvested some of the largest corn and soybean crops in history this year. Big harvests traditionally weigh on crop prices because of plentiful supply. And those price pressures comes at a time when costs remain persistently high to grow corn and soybeans, the US’s most valuable crops. That double whammy is hurting farmers. Income will vary per farmer and per state, yet even for producers in top agricultural states such as [Illinois](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/illinois), losses could be staggering. Agricultural economists from the University of Illinois and Ohio State University [estimate](https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2024/10/perspectives-and-strategies-for-dealing-with-low-farm-incomes-in-2014-and-beyond.html) that the average Illinois farm could make a loss of $30,000 for 2024. Their projections place farm incomes at the lowest level since the 1980s’ farm crisis led to bankruptcies. The decks are stacked against farmers for 2025 as well. Costs for seed, fertilizer and other inputs rose during 2022, fueled by the Russia-Ukraine war, which also lifted crop prices to record highs. While crop prices are down nearly 50% from those highs, in part due to a global supply glut, input prices remain elevated. Sterling Smith, an independent commodities researcher, says the national average break-even price for corn is $5.67 a bushel, and $12.72 a bushel for soybeans. Those levels are far above current Chicago Board of Trade most-active futures prices of $4.43 for corn and $9.76 for soybeans. “We’re looking at this crop, that, when it gets planted, of being a money-loser next year,” Smith says. And things could look worse for farmers if [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) places tariffs on imports. Trump [pledged to impose](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/27/trump-tariffs-explained) across-the-board tariffs of 20% on all US imports, with a 60% tariff on Chinese goods. Recently, he advocated for 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. Mexico, Canada and China are the three biggest importers of US agricultural goods, and agriculture is among the US’s biggest export engines. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates 16% of the US corn harvest and 40% of soybeans are exported. A trade war between those three countries could have both short-term and long-term impacts, Smith says. Until the first [trade war](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/23/us-china-escalate-trade-war-total-sum-levied-reaches-100bn) between China and the US in 2018, China was the No 1 destination for US agricultural goods. That came to a halt during the trade war, although China and the US eventually signed an agreement in 2019 to import a set amount of agricultural goods for two years. During the skirmish, [China](https://www.theguardian.com/world/china) began diversifying its suppliers, including buying from Brazil. Brazil was already a global grower and exporter of soybeans, but Chinese investment ramped up expansion, Smith says. “China is not going to put their food supply at risk,” Smith says. Brazil increased their soybean production by the equivalent of an area the size of the state of Kansas, and some estimates suggest it has as much as 70m acres (28m hectares) of unused pastureland it can plant to crops, the equivalent of two states the size of [Iowa](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/iowa). Brazil can also grow the equivalent of two crops in one year, planting soybeans in September and after that harvest, quickly plant a corn crop, he says, increasing Brazilian corn production. If Brazil continues with its aggressive expansion and the US continues its traditional output, a global situation of habitual oversupply will result, especially for soybeans, Smith says. “The bigger, long-term problem (for the US) is production gets restructured. Brazil begins to produce a lot more, and suddenly we are pushed out of the export market,” he says, “The bottom line is maybe we have to plant fewer acres.” An uptick in November’s export sales tracked by USDA suggests importers were stockpiling crops ahead of Trump’s inauguration, while taking advantage of low prices. Tanner Ehmke, lead economist for grains and oilseeds in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, an agricultural bank, says after this recent flurry of business, the future for US exports for the coming months is uncertain. “Where do we go from here? We have record supply coming from South America and at a time when other countries … could be looking for alternatives from the US in the event of a trade war,” he says. [ ‘The dead zone is real’: why US farmers are embracing wildflowers ](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/26/us-farmers-embracing-wildflowers-prairie-strips-erosion-pollinators) With a poor economic outlook, farmers will scrutinize their budgets ahead of spring planting. Ehmke says to pinch pennies they may in part switch to generic brands for seed and fertilizer and may forgo buying new machinery. That could have ramifications on publicly traded agriculture companies such as tractor company John Deere, seed company Corteva or fertilizer companies such as Nutrien, which are some of the largest by market capitalization. Farmers will likely endure operational losses, but a 1980s-style farm crisis is not likely in the offing. Then, over-leverage on land bankrupted many farmers, but the University of [Illinois](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/illinois) and Ohio State agricultural economists say the difference now is most farmers built financial reserves when incomes were at record levels in 2021 and 2022. Ehmke agrees. “We’re a long way from an industry-wide crisis,” he says.

 A new global trade war has begun. President Trump signed executive orders Saturday, imposing 25% taxes on most imports from two of the country's biggest trading partners: Canada and Mexico. Goods from China will be charged a 10% tax. The tariffs take effect on Tuesday. Trump said in a social media post he's taking the action in an effort to address the illegal flow of drugs and immigrants across the United States' northern and southern borders. Canadian crude oil will be subject to a lower, 10% tariff, which could mitigate the effect on U.S. gasoline prices. Midwestern oil refineries are heavily dependent on Canadian crude. The import taxes could result in higher prices for a wide range of products, including fruits and vegetables, flat screen TVs, and auto parts. The targeted countries are expected to respond with retaliatory tariffs of the own on U.S. exports. Businesses and shoppers in the U.S. were already bracing for higher prices on everything from gasoline to guacamole. Many had already started making contingency plans. Trade data released earlier this week showed a sharp rise in imports in December, suggesting some companies tried to stockpile goods before any tariffs take effect. Some individual shoppers also tried to beat the tariffs. Personal spending on durable goods such as autos and televisions jumped in December, according to [figures released Friday](https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/pi1224.pdf) by the Commerce Department. Mexico is a leading producer of flat-screen TVs. Tariffs have come up more than 200 times on corporate earnings calls this month. The auto industry is expected to be particularly hard hit because it is highly integrated, relying on manufacturing in all three countries. General Motors told financial analysts on Tuesday that it could shift some pickup truck production out of Mexico and Canada if tariffs are imposed. But the automaker is reluctant to act while the trade landscape is still uncertain. "We are prepared to mitigate near-term impacts," said CEO Mary Barra. "What we won't do is spend \[a\] large amount of capital without clarity."

[Finance & economics](/finance-and-economics) | Trade war  Photograph: Getty Images Feb 2nd 2025|WASHINGTON, DC LESS THAN two weeks into his new administration, Donald Trump has placed large tariffs on America’s three biggest trading partners—raising the spectre of a global trade war. With executive orders signed on February 1st, he initiated tariffs of 25% on imports from both [Canada and Mexico](https://www.economist.com/business/2025/01/30/no-one-gains-from-american-tariffs-on-cars-from-mexico-and-canada), and added levies of 10% to imports from China. Although Mr Trump had vowed to do just this, his actions will still represent a [shock to the global economy](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/01/21/tariffs-will-harm-america-not-induce-a-manufacturing-rebirth). They will drive up prices, weigh on growth and sow uncertainty for businesses. Moreover, they are likely to be just the first salvo for Mr Trump, who is itching to implement tariffs that are both more aggressive and more global.  The most important idea in modern finance has become maddeningly hard to implement  The situation is dire, but there are glimmers of hope  Will Italy’s nationalist prime minister manage to concentrate financial power? Following DeepSeek’s breakthrough, the Jevons paradox provides less comfort than they imagine The president has threatened to blow up the global tax system. Will allies be able to stop him? America’s tariff-loving president could learn the wrong lessons from international burger prices

Image The Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. A wide range of American goods that cross the border into Canada will soon be hit with a 25 percent tariff.Credit...Ian Willms for The New York Times

Ontario is striking back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s [trade tariffs](https://qz.com/donald-trump-trade-war-tariff-taxes-canada-mexico-china-1851753739) by removing all American-made alcohol from its shelves. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 4, when [Trump’s tariffs are set to go into effect](https://qz.com/trump-tariffs-amazon-temu-shein-imports-retail-1851753829?_gl=1*x76hab*_ga*MTkzNTUxMDgwMy4xNzI0MjQ2NjI3*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODU5NTI0NS4xMTUuMS4xNzM4NjAxNTYxLjYwLjAuMA..), the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) will pull U.S. wine, beer, spirits, and seltzers from both in-store and online sales, effectively stopping the sale of American alcohol across the province. “There’s never been a better time to choose an amazing Ontario-made or Canadian-made product,” Premier Doug Ford said an [X post](https://x.com/fordnation/status/1886044429212926331) on Sunday. In addition to the LCBO’s actions, businesses like bars, restaurants, and retail shops will also be unable to reorder or restock American alcohol through the LCBO’s distribution system. The move is a [direct response](https://qz.com/donald-trump-tariff-colombia-migrants-trade-war-taxes-1851748310?_gl=1*16ct2xg*_ga*MTkzNTUxMDgwMy4xNzI0MjQ2NjI3*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODU5NTI0NS4xMTUuMS4xNzM4NjAyMjc5LjYwLjAuMA..) to [Trump’s 25% tariffs](https://qz.com/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-autos-oil-food-1851752991) on Canadian imports. The LCBO, the [only legal wholesaler of alcohol](https://www.agco.ca/en/alcohol/selling-alcohol-convenience-and-grocery-stores) in Ontario, typically sells nearly $1 billion worth of American alcoholic beverages each year, according to Ford. The decision follows [Canada’s retaliatory tariffs](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-speech-trump-tariffs-1.7448540), which came after Trump’s latest trade measures. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced tariffs on [$155 billion of U.S. goods](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-speech-trump-tariffs-1.7448540) on Sunday, Feb. 2, signaling the start of a [tense trade standoff](https://qz.com/donald-trump-tariff-threat-graph-canada-mexico-china-1851750814). “Like the American tariffs, our response will also be far-reaching,” Trudeau said, explaining that the [new measures](https://qz.com/trump-tariff-american-spending-78-billion-nrf-report-1851689209) [would target items](https://qz.com/trump-tariff-proposal-china-10-items-apparel-shoes-1851697980) such as American beer and wine, as well as fruits, vegetables, and clothing. Ontario’s decision is part of a broader response in Canada. Other provinces, including British Columbia, have [announced similar actions](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/local-leaders-call-for-more-action-u-s-tariffs-1.7448647) to remove U.S. alcohol from shelves. British Columbia’s Premier, David Eby, has gone even further, directing the provincial liquor board to stop purchasing alcohol from U.S. states that have supported Trump’s trade policies. This move markes a significant shift in Canada’s alcohol market and reflects a growing push for self-sufficiency in the face of rising [trade tensions](https://qz.com/trump-tariffs-trade-war-business-leaders-ceos-1851753723). “We will stand strong for Canada,” Trudeau said. “This is Team Canada at its best.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he is “ripping up” the province’s contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink after President Donald Trump announced [sweeping tariffs](https://qz.com/djia-sp500-nasdaq-dow-trump-tariffs-trade-war-stocks-1851753718?_gl=1*2die5k*_ga*NjM4ODgzNjAzLjE3MzM5MzIzOTk.*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODU5NTQ0MC41My4xLjE3Mzg1OTY1NDkuNDUuMC4w) on Canada. Ford, who runs the most populous province in Canada, [said on X](https://x.com/fordnation/status/1886399257134969317) that the province isn’t just targeting Musk’s internet provider Starlink, it is banning any government contracts with American companies in retaliation. “Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues,” Ford said. “They only have President Trump to blame. We’re going one step further. We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink.” Ontario had signed a $100 million Canadian contract with Starlink in November to provide internet to parts of rural Ontario. “Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford added. “Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.” Over the weekend, Trump [announced tariffs](https://qz.com/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-autos-oil-food-1851752991) of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, with lower 10% tariffs on Canadian oil. Canada and Mexico both announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports. [In response to the tariffs](https://qz.com/trump-tariffs-trade-war-business-leaders-ceos-1851753723), Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged the country’s citizens to shop local. “Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada. Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada.” The Prime Minister [also said](https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-retaliation-trudeau-sheinbaum-70e067b092a3af72c2eb7ca37d532c91) that “we’re certainly not looking to escalate, but we will stand up for Canada.” Trump said he had no choice but to implement the tariffs “through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl.” The tariffs, which begin Tuesday, will remain in place until the so-called “national emergency” is over, he said.

[COIN\-1.54%](https://qz.com/quote/COIN)[TSLA\-5.01%](https://qz.com/quote/TSLA)[MSTR+3.24%](https://qz.com/quote/MSTR)[MARA\-0.99%](https://qz.com/quote/MARA)[NVDA\-2.00%](https://qz.com/quote/NVDA) President Donald Trump has begun a new [trade war with Canada, Mexico, and potentially China](https://qz.com/donald-trump-trade-war-tariff-taxes-canada-mexico-china-1851753739), and this has had a significant ripple effect on the broader financial landscape, including the cryptocurrency market. Trump’s latest move involves imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, while Chinese imports will be taxed at 10%. While these tariffs are not expected to directly affect the cryptocurrency market, they have still contributed to broader market volatility. Over the past 24 hours, [the entire cryptocurrency market has seen a sharp decline](https://qz.com/bitcoin-crypto-price-trump-tariffs-trade-war-1851753725) of more than 7%. [Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has fallen below $95,000](https://qz.com/bitcoin-ether-solana-dogecoin-crypto-to-watch-this-week-1851753776), reflecting a more than 5% drop. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been hit even harder, suffering a loss of over 17% in the same period, hovering just above $2,500. Other major cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Dogecoin, and Cardano have experienced declines of 16%, 23%, and 24% in the past 24 hours, respectively. The downturn has extended to crypto stocks as well. Coinbase ([COIN\-1.54%](https://qz.com/quote/COIN)), the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., saw its stock drop over 2.5% on Monday. Tesla ([TSLA\-5.01%](https://qz.com/quote/TSLA)), the electric car company led by Elon Musk, which holds over 11,500 Bitcoins, saw a 4.7% decrease in value. MicroStrategy ([MSTR+3.24%](https://qz.com/quote/MSTR)), the business intelligence firm with the largest Bitcoin holdings among publicly traded companies—444,462 BTC—also saw a 1% dip in its stock price. Other cryptocurrency-related companies, including mining firms like MARA Holdings ([MARA\-0.99%](https://qz.com/quote/MARA)) and Galaxy Digital Holdings ([GLXY](https://qz.com/quote/GLXY)), saw their stock prices fall by 3.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Despite cryptocurrencies not being directly impacted by the tariffs, the broader economic uncertainty and market instability have clearly shaken investor confidence, leading to a significant sell-off in both the crypto and traditional markets. This highlights two trends concerning the expanding cryptocurrency market: **Crypto is highly sensitive to Trump** --------------------------------------- Since Donald Trump declared himself a [“crypto candidate”](https://qz.com/donald-trump-accepting-cryptocurrencies-for-campaign-do-1851492123) in 2024 during his election campaign, the cryptocurrency industry has been closely monitoring his every move, paying close attention to his actions and statements. Now that he has assumed office, the crypto market has become highly sensitive to his decisions. This became evident when Trump announced new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China—an announcement that, despite having no direct impact on the crypto market, still sent cryptocurrencies into a sharp decline. The market’s reaction underscores how even unrelated political moves can trigger significant volatility in the cryptocurrency space. **Crypto is mirroring the stock market** ---------------------------------------- Cryptocurrency is steadily becoming more mainstream, and with each passing day, its ties to the broader financial market grow stronger. Whenever there’s a selloff in tech or AI stocks, the crypto market and crypto-related stocks are directly affected. This was evident recently when the [DeepSeek-induced selloff of Nvidia impacted the whole crypto market.](https://qz.com/bitcoin-btc-price-global-tech-stock-sell-off-nvidia-1851748175) Additionally, macroeconomic factors continue to play a significant role in shaping the performance of the crypto market. For instance, [the latest favorable inflation data led to a boost in Bitcoin’s price above $100,000](https://qz.com/bitcoin-100-000-crypto-etfs-inflation-data-stock-market-1851740022).

Watch: 'I'm getting angry and anti-American' - Canadians on tariff threat President Donald Trump has suspended for 30 days the hefty tariffs on Mexico and Canada that he threatened after last-minute negotiations with the two US neighbours. He can point to concessions on border and crime enforcement as a victory. But Canada's Justin Trudeau and Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum also can claim political wins. A trade war that would send economic shockwaves through North America and beyond is on hold - for now. So who blinked first and what happens next? Trump brinkmanship appears to pay off ------------------------------------- _By Courtney Subramanian, BBC News, Washington DC_ President Trump's high-stakes confrontation with the United States' closest trading partners appears to have paid off, with both Mexico and Canada agreeing to stricter border security and taking bigger steps to address fentanyl trafficking. The strategy to leverage the US economy to force concessions from other countries notches a win for Trump's "America first" agenda, allowing him to follow through on core domestic issues without American consumers feeling the sting of the economic consequences of a continental trade war. His tariff playbook is hardly new. Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium during his first term prompted backlash from Mexico, Canada and the European Union, but economists say those measures were more limited in scope. This time, Trump has promised sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and China, which is still set to see a 10% tariff increase on goods starting at midnight on Tuesday. But it remains unclear whether Trump will follow through on his threats to Canada and Mexico once the 30-day deadline is up. That uncertainty stirs fears that could see businesses reducing their reliance on American markets, holding off on investing in building new factories or hiring workers until the trade stand-off becomes more clear. Lame-duck Trudeau pulls off a trade truce ----------------------------------------- _By Jessica Murphy, BBC News, Toronto_ That was not a January Arctic blast from the north - it was a widespread sigh of relief from Canadian politicians and business leaders at the 30-day pause on US tariffs. While the threat of tariffs remains, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can claim a political win: a temporary truce in what was shaping up to be a devastating trade war. Canadian politicians have been scrambling to figure out what exactly would satisfy Trump - a situation not helped by Canada's domestic politics, with Trudeau wrapping up his last weeks in power as a lame-duck prime minister. The border security measures announced on Monday aren't all new. In December, Canada announced C$1.3bn ($900m; £700m) in measures that included efforts to disrupt the fentanyl trade, new tools for law enforcement and enhanced co-ordination with US law enforcement. Canadian surveillance drones and two Black Hawk helicopters recently began patrolling the boundary between the two countries. Officials have cited those efforts for weeks to show they are taking Trump's border concerns seriously. A new element appears to be the appointment of a "fentanyl tsar" and a C$200m intelligence directive to fight organised crime and fentanyl. One question that remains is what this means for the future of the Canada-US relationship. The partnership between the allies has been deeply shaken by Trump's economic threats. Watch: US anthem booed at basketball and hockey games in Canada Mexico's Sheinbaum buys herself time ------------------------------------ _By Will Grant, BBC Central America and Cuba Correspondent, Mexico City_ Throughout this trade crisis, President Claudia Sheinbaum has called for "cool heads" and "calm". Even on Friday, she said she was confident of a last-minute reprieve from the 25% tariffs on Mexican goods. And so it proved, following an early morning telephone call with President Trump. Announcing the agreement soon after, she could barely wipe the smile from her face and her supporters have heralded what they see as a masterclass in how to negotiate with Donald Trump. Yes, she agreed to send National Guard troops to the border to focus on fentanyl-smuggling, but crucially she secured what she wanted from Trump, too. As well as the obvious – a pause on tariffs – she also got Trump to "promise" the US would do more to tackle the traffic of high-powered weapons from the US into Mexico, to prevent them from ending up in the arms of cartel gunmen. But she also bought herself another vital commodity: time. She now has several weeks to build on the points agreed in that phone call and turn the temporary hold on tariffs into a permanent one. The expectation is that now Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Mexico soon to discuss these matters and a joint group on fentanyl will be established with Mexican and US health and security officials. If in fact Sheinbaum does manage to prevent further trade hostilities, it will go down as the first significant victory of her new government, having only been in office since October. And it may set the tone for future interactions with President Trump and his administration.   Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second presidential term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can [sign up here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsletters/zgmn46f). Those outside the UK can [sign up here](https://cloud.email.bbc.com/US_Politics_Unspun_Newsletter_Signup).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada went for a threat of immediate retaliation and a late-night emotional address that produced a cliffhanger compromise. President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico opted for carrots over sticks, and backroom talks that led to an early deal. In the end, when all was said and done on Monday, hours before what would have been the start of a North American trade war, both leaders negotiated reprieves from President Trump on his threat to impose tariffs on the United States’ two top trading partners. And both had to provide relatively little in exchange. The different routes Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Sheinbaum followed to the same outcome — a 30-day delay in U.S. tariffs in exchange for toughening their borders to stem the flow of drugs and unauthorized migrants into the United States — tell a tale of two different styles of leadership, and two countries with different relationships to the United States. Mr. Trudeau had been preparing the ground for compromise — and retaliation — since November. Three days after Mr. Trump first issued his tariff threat on Nov. 25, the Canadian prime minister got on a plane to Mar-a-Lago to talk to him about averting what would amount to a fraternal trade war that would deeply hurt the Canadian economy. By all accounts, that first meeting set the scene for Canada’s groundwork to directly address what Mr. Trump said he wanted: a safer northern border, with fewer unauthorized migrant crossings, and a tighter grip on fentanyl flowing across the border. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F04%2Fworld%2Fcanada%2Fmexico-canada-trump-tariff-deals.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F04%2Fworld%2Fcanada%2Fmexico-canada-trump-tariff-deals.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F04%2Fworld%2Fcanada%2Fmexico-canada-trump-tariff-deals.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F04%2Fworld%2Fcanada%2Fmexico-canada-trump-tariff-deals.html).

Laura Bicker China correspondent Watch: ‘Both sides suffer’ - Shanghai residents on US-China tariff tensions Beijing has made its decision. After days of warning of counter measures and urging Washington to enter negotiations and "meet China halfway", it has decided to hit back – or at least threaten to retaliate with its own tariffs. China said it would implement a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the US from 10 February. The date is important. It means there is still time for the world's two largest economies to step back from the brink of a trade war. The two leaders have scheduled a call later this week, according to the White House, and there are signs, despite today's announcement, that China is in listening mode and is keeping the door open for talks. Firstly, China's counter measures are limited in scope compared to Donald Trump's levy of 10% on all Chinese goods heading to the US. America is the biggest exporter of liquid natural gas across the world, but China accounts for only around 2.3% of those exports and its major car imports are from Europe and Japan. This calculated and selective targeting of goods may just be an opening shot by Beijing, a way of gaining some bargaining power and leverage ahead of any talks. Officials in China may be encouraged by the cordial start to the US-China relationship since Trump took office. The US president said he had a "very good" phone call with President Xi days before his inaugural ceremony, which was attended by the highest-level Chinese official ever to be dispatched to such an event. He has also suggested that he hopes to work with Xi on resolving Russia's war in Ukraine. President Xi might not want to pick a fight with Trump just yet as he is busy trying to shore up his own ailing economy. This is also familiar territory for both leaders – although they might not be keen to relive the past. There was a honeymoon period in US-China relations during Trump's last term, before the relationship soured. Reuters Large-engine cars are among the US imports that Beijing has said it will tax To deal or not to deal ---------------------- It will also be far more difficult for Trump to do a deal with China than with Mexico and Canada - and much will depend on what he wants from Beijing. China is Washington's chief economic rival and cutting the country off from major supply chains has been a goal of the Trump administration. If Trump asks for too much, Xi might feel he can walk away and there will be limits on just how far he is willing to be pushed. The US president is dealing with a far more confident China than he did back then. Beijing has expanded its global footprint, and it is now the lead trade partner for more than 120 countries. Over the past two decades, it has also steadily tried to reduce the importance of trade to its economy and ramped up domestic production. Today, imports and exports account for around 37% of China's GDP, compared with more than 60% in the early 2000s, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The 10% tariff will sting, but Beijing may feel it can absorb the blow – for now. The fear will be that President Trump is serious about ramping up that percentage to the 60% he pledged during his campaign or that he will continue to use the threat of tariffs as a recurring diplomatic tool to hold over Xi's head. If that happens, Beijing will want to be ready and that means having a clear strategy in case this escalates. Learning from the past ---------------------- The last time the leaders signed a deal it did not end well. The two countries issued tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods from 2018. It lasted more than two years until eventually China agreed to spend an extra $200bn (£161bn) a year on US goods in 2020. Washington hoped the deal would bring down the huge trade deficit between China and the US, but the plan was derailed by the Covid pandemic and that deficit now sits at $361bn, according to Chinese customs data. There are also key challenges for China as it is thinking several steps ahead in any negotiation. Beijing still sells nearly four times more goods to the United States than it buys - and during Trump's first term in office, it ran out of items to target. Analysts believe that China is now looking at a wider range of measures than just tariffs to retaliate if the trade war ramps up. The clock is ticking. This is not a full trade war, yet. Businesses around the world will be watching to see if the two leaders can reach some kind of settlement later this week.

Just a day ago, Donald Trump was threatening a multi-front trade war with Canada, Mexico and China that would take the global economy into uncharted territory. Twenty-four hours later, we're in a rather different place with the tariffs - or taxes - against America's closest neighbours and trading partners on hold for 30 days. But the 10% tariffs on all goods imports from China have gone ahead, and Beijing has responded in kind. So what are the potential economic consequences of these opening salvos and could this turn into a broader trade war? China is subject to significant US tariffs already and has been since Trump's first term. But the blanket nature of today's new levies from the White House on every single goods import from China - from toys, to mobile phones, to clothes - is new and significant. [Beijing's promised tariff retaliation](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c8d90v1m6qvt?post=asset%3A3d27bac7-36e6-4475-9137-081140083eda#post) - including new levies on imports from the US of oil, agricultural machinery and some cars - is far less sweeping. Yet the retaliation moves us into the arena of tit-for-tat action, where the country experiencing the tariffs feels it has no choice but to hit back to show its own citizens it can't be pushed around by a foreign power. This is the [dictionary definition of a trade war](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trade-war) - and economic historians warn they tend to generate their own momentum and can rapidly spiral out of control. [Trump has used just about every justification](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20myx1erl6o) under the sun for tariffs, from raising more tax revenue to boosting American manufacturing and rebalancing trade. But one thing recent days confirm is the new president regards them as a powerful way to compel other nations to do what he wants. He threatened massive and punitive tariffs on Colombia when it initially refused to accept US flights of its deported nationals, but he lifted the threat when Bogota acquiesced. The White House might also point to the response of Mexico and Canada yesterday as evidence tariff threats yield results. He had threatened to ride roughshod over [his own North American free trade deal](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45674261) unless those nations tightened up on border control. Although how much extra those two countries actually promised yesterday on border security relative to what they were already doing is open to question. Yet the problem with the White House using tariff threats in this way is that if other countries don't back down - or agreements are not reached - Trump might well feel he has no choice but to follow through or risk losing all credibility. And the targeted country might feel it has to respond with its prepared countermeasures, even if they would prefer not to. That high-risk dynamic - where things could slip out of control in an atmosphere of distrust and political pressure - is why many analysts and economists are far from comforted by how things have played out with Mexico and Canada this week. The other reason many economists fear Trump's intimidatory tariff diplomacy is its potentially chilling impact on business investment and confidence. US car firms have a [deeply integrated industrial base](https://www.cato.org/blog/seven-charts-show-how-us-tariffs-would-harm-american-auto-industry) across America, Mexico and Canada. Automotive parts cross those borders multiple times in the vehicle assembly process. The levying of 25% tariffs on each of those movements would be disastrous for these businesses. Those North American tariffs have been paused for now, but it's very hard to see US or Canadian automotive executives committing to further investment in those cross-border supply chains any time soon - and perhaps for many years to come. That will have negative implications for their productivity - and also for the wages of their employees in all three countries. The view of many economists is having cross-border supply chains makes these firms more productive than they would otherwise be and this raises US workers' wages relative to where they would be if they only manufactured in America. These same effects apply on a global scale. In light of Trump's tariff threats against the European Union, how many US firms are likely to be going ahead with planned investments in Europe - and vice versa? Countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia benefitted indirectly from the US tariffs imposed on China in Donald Trump's first presidential term, as multinationals shifted manufacturing out of China and into their territories to avoid the taxes and to continue exporting to America. But what if Trump now threatens tariffs against them too? The huge uncertainty Trump's tariff threats have injected into the global economy - even if they don't always translate into actual new taxes - will likely already be doing damage.

The European Union spent last year drawing up secret plans for what the bloc would do if President Trump made good on his threats of imposing higher tariffs on European goods and services. Now, as those threats go from hypothetical to potentially imminent, its plans are coming into broad focus. Hit specific, politically sensitive sectors — like products made in Republican states — with targeted tariffs meant to inflict maximum pain. Don’t escalate into a tit-for-tat competition if it’s avoidable. Do move quickly and decisively, potentially using new tactics that could hit service providers like big Silicon Valley technology firms. It’s a rough playbook — described broadly by three diplomats who requested anonymity because the plans were still being discussed — that Europe would prefer not to use. The first goal is to avoid a trade war by offering to negotiate and dangling carrots, including more European purchases of American gas, which Mr. Trump has been pushing for. E.U. officials have warned that a trade war between the bloc and the United States would be a self-defeating disaster that would cost both sides and benefit geopolitical rivals like China and Russia. But Mr. Trump has kept the continent in his cross hairs, saying this week that the bloc would “definitely” face tariffs and “pretty soon.” If appeasement fails, Europe is broadcasting that it is ready to hit back. “We are prepared,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said during a news conference this week in Brussels, when asked whether she was ready to fend off tariff increases from the new U.S. administration. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F07%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Feu-tariffs-trump.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F07%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Feu-tariffs-trump.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F07%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Feu-tariffs-trump.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F07%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Feu-tariffs-trump.html).

 Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is here, and [defense contractors can’t wait](https://qz.com/elon-musk-doge-defense-firms-palantir-l3harris-boeing-1851755120) for the “revolution” to reach the Defense Department. So far, his focus has been on other areas, but they’re betting that Musk — himself a defense contractor through SpaceX — slashes a lot of red tape. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have finally hit China — even as Canada and Mexico get a chance to catch their breath — sparking a new trade war. Google ([GOOGL](https://qz.com/quote/GOOGL)), Apple, Illumina ([ILMN](https://qz.com/quote/ILMN)), and others are already in [China’s crosshairs](https://qz.com/apple-probe-stock-trump-china-tariff-google-intel-ai-1851755606?_gl=1*pwg7y0*_ga*MzI0MTc4MTE1LjE3MzAzMDkyMTg.*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODg2Nzc4MS4yOC4xLjE3Mzg4NzQ3OTguNDUuMC4w) for repercussions. The tariffs themselves spell danger for a number of companies, including [automakers](https://qz.com/ford-trump-tariffs-cost-autos-billion-profits-gm-evs-1851756698?_gl=1*17do2io*_ga*MzI0MTc4MTE1LjE3MzAzMDkyMTg.*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODg2Nzc4MS4yOC4xLjE3Mzg4NzQzMzYuNTcuMC4w) and e-commerce retailers like [Shein and Temu](https://qz.com/temu-shein-amazon-trump-tariffs-china-retail-shipments-1851756879?_gl=1*1bqwx46*_ga*MzI0MTc4MTE1LjE3MzAzMDkyMTg.*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODg2Nzc4MS4yOC4xLjE3Mzg4NzQ3ODMuNjAuMC4w), if they stick around for a while. Catch up on all that — and more, like the drug industry’s reaction to vaccine-skeptic [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation](https://qz.com/pfizer-ceo-albert-bourla-rfk-1851754895?_gl=1*p4avcj*_ga*MTA1MTg2OTg2MS4xNzE3MDY4MzAz*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODg3Mzk0NS4xNjcuMS4xNzM4ODc5MTgzLjUwLjAuMA..) to lead Health and Human Services — in this week’s politics roundup.