March 13th, 2025: Global Tariff War Escalates & Russia Responds To US Ceasefire Proposal
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What is the current status of the global tariff war?
It's Thursday, the 13th of March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start off with tariffs and the trade war. Perhaps you've heard about it. Well, the trade war is now escalating worldwide as Canada hits the U.S. with a 25% reciprocal tariff on steel and aluminum products, while the European Union vows to raise tariffs on up to $28 billion worth of U.S. goods. It's a veritable tariff palooza. Later in the show, the Kremlin has issued their first response to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, saying that they're waiting for details from the Trump administration, while stressing that their territorial gains must be addressed as part of any deal. Plus, the captain of a cargo ship involved in a catastrophic collision with a U.S. flag tanker in the North Sea has been arrested by British authorities.
The tanker, by the way, was loaded to the gills with U.S. military jet fuel. A criminal investigation has been opened and the captain, a Russian national, is being probed for manslaughter over the deadly incident. And in today's Back of the Brief, hundreds of hostages have been freed by Pakistani security forces after separatist militants wearing suicide vests hijacked a passenger train on Tuesday in an attack that left dozens of people dead. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. President Trump's trade war is once again escalating as allies retaliate, and the president threatens new tariffs, sparking fears that a global recession could be looming. As we discussed on yesterday's PDB, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from Canada and all other U.S.
How is Canada responding to U.S. tariffs?
trading partners on Wednesday over what the president argues are severe trade imbalances with U.S. allies that are undercutting American businesses and workers. Just hours after the new levies took effect, Canada struck back by imposing a 25% reciprocal tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum products, as well as on machine tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sports equipment, and cast iron products. In total, Canada's retaliatory economic measures cover some $20 billion worth of American goods, and that's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The economic tit-for-tat promises to have far-reaching consequences for the price of everyday goods, as Canada serves as the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S. Last year, the U.S. imported some 3.2 million tons of aluminum from Canada, valued at roughly $16 billion and roughly $20 billion worth of steel.
Canada's finance minister, Dominique LeBlanc, issued a condemnation of President Trump's tariff blitzkrieg, which began in earnest last week, saying, quote, We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted, end quote. Shortly after Canada hit back, officials in the European Union announced their own economic retaliation.
What are the implications of the EU's counter-tariffs?
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-member bloc would impose counter-tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods beginning on the 1st of April, which will cover a laundry list of items, including American beef, poultry, bourbon, bourbon, seriously, not a tariff on bourbon, motorcycles, peanut butter, and jeans. If implemented, the tariffs will cost impacted companies billions of dollars, a financial hit that they'll most likely pass along to consumers in the form of higher prices in both the U.S. and EU. We should note, however, that these products account for a relatively small portion of the giant EU-U.S. commercial relationship, though the liquor industry warned that their sector will suffer, quote, devastating financial consequences. von der Leyen said Wednesday, quote, we deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They're bad for business and even worse for consumers, end quote. But she stressed that the EU is eager to resume trade negotiations with the U.S.
to find a mutually beneficial solution and avoid further economic retaliation. von der Leyen added, quote, We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it's not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs, end quote.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the current status of the global tariff war?
0:12–2:06
2
How is Canada responding to U.S. tariffs?
2:06–3:31
3
What are the implications of the EU's counter-tariffs?
3:31–14:29
4
What is Russia's reaction to the U.S. ceasefire proposal?
14:29–17:05
5
What challenges are faced in achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine?
17:05
6
How are U.S. steel producers reacting to the tariffs?
13:24
7
What are the recent developments regarding the cargo ship incident?
11:58–19:39
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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