March 6, 2025

In the latest turnaround in President Trump's trade war, he announced that all Canadian and Mexican goods that fall under the  USMCA rules would be exempt from tariffs until April 2.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed during Trump's first term in 2018 after he expressed dissatisfaction with the previous North American trade deal, also known as NAFTA.

On Thursday, Trump also said that auto tariffs, delayed yesterday for a month, would not be postponed a second time.

Earlier this week, Trump imposed 25% import duties on goods coming from the US' two neighbors and key trading partners.

Trump's rollercoaster financial maneuvers have sent US stock markets tumbling and business leaders scrambling to keep up.

March 6, 2025

President Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social network that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), should start using a "scalpel" rather than the "hatchet" when it comes to making government cuts.

The statement marks Trump's first public reaction to mounting criticism that DOGE is slashing tens of thousands of government jobs, and putting critical services at risk before it has carried out any real budget assessments. Many of its decisions have already been blocked by courts over questions of legality.

Trump is also convening a cabinet meeting later on Thursday to address concerns from secretaries that Musk is trying to run their departments over their heads.

There has been widespread outrage, also from conservatives, that US-South African tech billionaire Musk is exercising far too much power for someone who is neither an elected official nor a cabinet minister.

 However, Trump also wrote that "DOGE has been an incredible success, and now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing."

March 6, 2025

US District Court Judge John McConnell in the US state of Rhode Island blocked the White House from freezing federal grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars, saying that only US Congress had the power to do so.

The latest ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states. The court case was launched over the Trump administration's plan for a sweeping pause on federal spending.

McConnell ruled that the executive branch was trying to put itself above Congress and said this "undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government."

"The Executive has not pointed to any constitutional or statutory authority that would allow them to impose this type of categorical freeze," McConnel wrote.

"The Court is not limiting the Executive's discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds. Rather, consistent with the Constitution, statutes, and caselaw, the Court is simply holding that the Executive's discretion to impose its own policy preferences on appropriated funds can be exercised only if it is authorized by the congressionally approved appropriations statutes," he added.

The White House did not immediately respond the rulling, but it is expected to appeal the decision.

March 6, 2025

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said the US and Mexico would continue working together to tackle the illicit opioid fentanyl trade from Mexico into the US.

The Trump administration had pointed to drug trafficking as a key point of contention in negotiations over Washington's 25% tariffs on Mexican imports.

"We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties," Sheinbaum said in a post on X.

Sheinbaum said that the two countries would also work to curb the flow of guns from the US to Mexico.

March 6, 2025

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would continue to be in a trade war with the United States for "the foreseeable future" even if there are "breaks for certain sectors," referring to a possible new pause in recently imposed tariffs.

"Our goal remains to get these tariffs, all tariffs removed," Trudeau said

The remarks came one day after an urgent call with US President Donald Trump to try to end what Trudeau called an "unjustified" trade war.

Discussions with the Trump administration were ongoing, the Canadian prime minister added. But so far, the two sides appear to not have reached a deal for a pause.

"As I've said a number of times, we will not be backing down from our response tariffs until such a time as the unjustified American tariffs on Canadian goods are lifted," Trudeau added.

March 6, 2025

US President Donald Trump announced that he would pause tariffs he recently imposed on Mexican imports.

It comes after he held talks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Sheinbaum said the call with Trump was "excellent and respectful," adding that it had led to "unprecedented results."

Trump said in particular that tariffs would not apply to trade falling under the USMCA (formerly known as NAFTA) trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada for now.

"This Agreement is until April 2nd," he added in a social media post.