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Evening Report

Tuesday, November 26

World leaders react to Trump's tariff threats

Global leaders on Tuesday reacted with a mix of concern and warnings about possible retaliatory action after President-elect Trump said he would impose fresh tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China come January.

Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that the tariffs he intends to issue on his first day back in the Oval Office are meant to push all three countries to curb the spread of fentanyl into the U.S. while bolstering U.S. national security.

The incoming president said he'd impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican goods, as well as an additional 10 percent tariff for all Chinese goods. Many Chinese goods are already under tariffs from Trump's first term.

CANADA

Trump's announcement was met with concern and dismay among Canadian government officials.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke with Trump just hours after the president-elect issued his tariff threat, calling it a "good conversation."

Doug Ford, the premier of the province of Ontario, likened it to "a family member stabbing you right in the heart," public broadcaster CBC reported.

He said the tariffs would be "devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the US."

Canadian ministers issued a statement voicing shared concern over the border while noting that 60 percent of U.S. crude oil imports in 2023 came from Canada, the BBC reported.

Patrick De Haan, an oil and gas expert, said on X the proposed tariff would "have huge impacts to #gasprices in the Great Lakes, Midwest & Rockies, which are major markets where refiners process Canadian oil."

The Canadian American Business Council said it "strongly oppose[s]" the proposed tariffs, adding they'd "harm businesses on both sides of the border and erode the economic and geopolitical strength of North America."

Facts and figures:

Nearly $2.7 billion worth of goods cross the U.S.-Canada border daily.
More than three-quarters of Canada's exports go to the U.S.

MEXICO

Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum in a letter addressed to Trump, threatened retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., claiming Trump's proposed tariffs would hurt both U.S. and Mexican economies.

"We are not going to address the migration phenomenon or drug use in the United States with threats or tariffs. These major challenges require cooperation and mutual understanding. One tariff will be followed by another in response, and so on until we put common companies at risk," she wrote.

Sheinbaum expressed interest in meeting with Trump to discuss the issue.

Vehicle manufacturing is a key industry to watch amid the tariff battle. It's an important sector in Mexico, and roughly 8 in 10 cars made in Mexico are exported to the U.S.

Facts and figures:

As of September, Mexico is the U.S.'s top trade partner, making up 15.9 percent of total trade. Canada is a close second at 14.4 percent.
The U.S. is Mexico's top trade partner.
The automotive industry in Mexico is the most vital manufacturing sector in the country and represents more than one-third of manufactured exports by value.
America imports more than 79 percent of vehicles made in Mexico.

CHINA

Trump has said he will impose an extra 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, in addition to those already in place from his first term.

"I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States – but to no avail," Trump posted online. "Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before."

Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., reacted to Trump's announcement on social platform X, saying the idea of China allowing fentanyl to flow into the United States "runs completely counter to facts and reality," and that cooperation between China and the U.S "is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war or a tariff war."

Facts and figures:

During Trump's first term, he imposed a series of tariffs on $380 billion worth of goods, which affected many Chinese-made products. China responded with its own tariffs against the U.S., with the back-and-forth eventually escalating to a trade war between the two nations.
According to the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative, China was the top supplier of goods to the United States in 2022, accounting for 16.5 percent of total goods imports and worth about $536.3 billion.

THE STOCK MARKET:

Trump's tariffs announcement hit the markets Tuesday, according to ABC News.

Facts and figures:

The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar fell substantially against the USD.
S&P 500 rose 0.57 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 percent.
The Nasdaq composite was 0.6 percent higher.
General Motors sank nearly 9 percent.
Ford Motor fell 2.6 percent.
Constellation Brands (sells Modelo and other Mexican beers) in the U.S., dropped 3.3 percent.

In Shanghai, stock indexes were down 0.1 percent, and they were nearly flat in Hong Kong. For Canada, its main index was down 0.02 percent.

💡Perspectives:

• Trump's second term could test Europe's nuclear temptations (The Hill)

• A national service program to help Trump solve the border crisis (The Hill)

• Trump's Tariff Plan Makes Little Sense (The New York Times)

• Trump can't bully the world out of doing business with China (The Washington Post)

Read more:

• Democratic senator: No reason to doubt Trump is serious about tariffs

• Senate Democrat on Trump tariff threats: 'I think he's heading toward a real horror show'

• Trump says he's going to impose new tariffs: When could it impact your wallet?

• Germany's Merkel: Trump 'does not believe in any win-win situation,' making collaboration difficult

• Canada braces for surge of immigrants hoping to move from US

• Canadian officials blast Trump's tariff threat and one calls Mexico comparison an insult

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Emily Martin, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

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NEWS THIS AFTERNOON

Where do Trump's criminal cases stand?

Trump took a victory lap Monday after special counsel Jack Smith announced he was dismissing the election interference case and classified documents case against President-elect Trump, citing the Department of Justice's (DOJ) policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

After Smith's announcement, Trump took to Truth Social to boast, saying "These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. ... Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party's fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before."

This leaves two state-level cases on Trump's plate. Where do they stand now?

Hush money case (New York):

Action in this case was already up in the air this fall, with sentencing delayed multiple times, and it appears it will remain in limbo.

Trump was tried and convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying a business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

His sentencing was set for Tuesday, but that was called off after Trump won the election. New York Judge Juan Merchan must now decide if Trump's return to the White House means the immediate dismissal of the guilty verdict.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), prosecutor on the case, is open to "putting the case on ice" until Trump is out of the Oval Office in 2029, The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Rebecca Beitsch report.

Trump must submit a dismissal motion by Monday, and Bragg must respond by Dec. 9.

Election interference (Georgia):

Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants face racketeering and other charges in Georgia over allegations that they engaged in a monthslong conspiracy to prevent President Biden's 2020 win in the state.

Proceedings had already been frozen well before Election Day following revelations Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) had a relationship with a top prosecutor on the case. The Trump team appealed, seeking to disqualify Willis.

Oral arguments were originally scheduled for Dec. 5 on Trump's appeal. But the argument was canceled by the Georgia Court of Appeals without explanation earlier this month. It is unclear if the cancellation is related to Trump's election victory.

Trial proceedings won't continue until the appeal is resolved.

💡Perspectives:

• Donald Trump Gets Away With It (The Atlantic)

• Jack Smith and the Dismissal of Cases Against Trump (The New York Times)

Read more:

• Schiff on Smith decision to dismiss Trump cases: 'A serious mistake'

• People thinking Trump will be restrained from investigating Smith team 'sorely mistaken': Haberman

• Ty Cobb says Trump has no 'legitimate way' of going after Smith's team

IN OTHER NEWS

State round-up:

Homan visits border with Abbott ahead of Trump inauguration:
Tom Homan, President-elect Trump's "border czar," traveled to Texas on Tuesday to meet with Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to discuss plans for mass deportation. Homan has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to states if they fail to cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration plans, even saying he'd jail Denver's mayor over the issue. Read more on his Texas trip from The Hill's sister network NewsNation.
Court upholds Missouri ban on gender-affirming care for minors: A Missouri court upheld a state law Monday, banning gender-affirming health care for minors, as well as barring Medicaid from covering transition-related care, according to The Hill's Brooke Migdon. Wright County Circuit Judge Craig Carter rejected a legal challenge from three transgender teenagers, medical providers and two LGBTQ advocacy organizations, and ruled Missouri's 2023 law was constitutional. Carter said in his ruling he believes there is "an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment."
Biden administration preliminarily OKs $6.6B loan to EV maker Rivian: The Biden administration has preemptively OKed a $6.6 billion loan to electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian for a plant in Georgia. The loan, according the administration, is to support the "construction of a facility where Rivian will make up to 400,000 'mass-market' electric SUVs and crossovers," The Hill's Rachel Frazin reports, specifically its Rivian's R2 and R3 models, which the company plans to sell at a "significantly lower price point" than its flagship R1 vehicle.