The European Union is looking to give itself some leverage against the Trump administration, releasing a plan on Thursday to hit the United States with additional tariffs if trade negotiations don&#8217;t come to fruition.
The European Commission unveiled two steps it would take against the United States, including a higher tariff on more than $100 billion worth of U.S. goods and unleashing a trade dispute against the United States with the World Trade Organization, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/world/europe/eu-retaliatory-tariffs-trump-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The European Union announced its retaliation plan as President Donald Trump said he will agree to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-announce-major-trade-deal-with-united-kingdom?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+To+Announce+%E2%80%98Major+Trade+Deal%E2%80%99+With+United+Kingdom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;major deal</a>&#8221; with the United Kingdom on Thursday.
“We believe there are good deals to be made for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “At the same time, we continue preparing for all possibilities, and the consultation launched today will help guide us in this necessary work.”
The European Union says American goods on the <a href="///Users/zachjewell/Downloads/Information%20gathering_list%20of%20products%20for%20consultation_EU%20common%20commercial%20policy%20measures%20on%20imports%20of%20goods%20from%20the%20US.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">list</a> that could be hit with an additional tariff include a wide range of products from cars and airplanes to grain and meat. The bloc is also considering a restriction on exports of scrap steel and chemical products. The list is not final, and the European Commission will review feedback on it before providing a final list over the summer, according to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/08/eu-trump-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Axios</a>.
Trump slapped a 20% tariff on the European Union in his &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff rollout last month. The bloc <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/10/eu-suspends-retaliatory-tariffs-us-goods-trump-von-der-leyen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retaliated</a>, hitting U.S. goods with a 25% duty, but after Trump announced he would lower tariffs to 10% across the board for most countries, the European Union suspended its retaliatory action for 90 days. Trump&#8217;s 25% tariff on aluminum and steel products and car imports remains in effect.
While Trump did not reveal any details of the upcoming deal with the United Kingdom, he said the agreement &#8220;is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come.&#8221; A British official also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/business/economy/trump-trade-britain.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The New York Times that the deal would benefit both countries, but did not offer specifics.
The agreement with the United Kingdom could give the European Union a better hint at how to negotiate with the Trump administration in the coming weeks. Trump said earlier this week that his administration “could sign 25 deals right now,” but added that it’s up to other countries “to sign deals with us.”

European Union

E.U. Reveals Plan To Hit U.S. With Additional Tariffs If Trade Talks Stall

Donald Trump

Economy

Politics

Tariffs

Trade War

Trump Administration

President Trump declared &#8220;there will be a trade deal, 100%&#8221; with Europe before a meeting Thursday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the first European leader to visit the White House since he paused planned tariffs last week.
The meeting comes just days after both the European Union and Trump paused respective tariffs for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.
The Italian Prime Minister has been <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/04/17/europes-trump-whisperer-arrives-00295414">dubbed</a> the “Trump Whisperer” by the media, meeting with Trump before even EU Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen, who Trump has yet to schedule a meeting with 88 days into his presidency.
&#8220;I&#8217;m sure we can make a deal, and I am here to help with that,&#8221; Meloni said to the media prior to her lunch with Trump.
“I cannot lock this deal in the name of the European Union,” she <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/17/us-news/trump-vows-there-will-be-a-trade-deal-100-with-europe-as-italy-pm-georgia-meloni-visits-white-house/">added</a>, per the New York Post. “My goal would be to invite President Trump to pay an official visit to Italy and understand if there’s a possibility when it comes to organizing such a meeting with Europe.”
The White House sees Meloni as a possible bridge between Trump and the 27-member European bloc, who Trump has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/us/politics/meloni-trump-tariffs.html?smid=url-share">accused</a> of trying “screw” the United States on trade, establishing what officials describe as a &#8220;bespoke&#8221; trade deal.
Aside from trade, another issue likely to be addressed in the meeting is NATO, with Trump likely to prod Meloni on Italy’s failure to hit the requisite 2% of GDP on defense spending agreed to decades ago.
Italy is currently one of eight countries failing to hit that benchmark, at only 1.5%, per The New York Times.
Meloni addressed this point, saying, &#8220;Europe, as you know, is committed to do more, is working on tools to allow and help the [NATO] member states in increasing the defense spending. And we are convinced that everyone has to do more.&#8221;
Administration officials indicated Trump will also pitch having Italy import more American energy as part of his broader goal to &#8220;unleash American energy exports to the rest of the world.&#8221;
In 2024, the United States trade deficit with the European Union <a href="https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0003.html">stood</a> at approximately $236 billion, with American manufacturers often competing against European products while facing higher tariffs and more restrictive regulations when exporting to EU markets.
Trump&#8217;s approach seeks to address these disparities through bilateral negotiations with key European partners.
Meloni&#8217;s visit carries particular significance as both leaders share common ground as populist conservatives who have emphasized national sovereignty and border security.
The Italian Prime Minister <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63351655">rose</a> to power in 2022 as the country&#8217;s first female leader, campaigning on a platform that resonated with conservative voters concerned about immigration and traditional values.
The &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs that Trump temporarily suspended <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/european-union-approves-first-set-of-retaliatory-tariffs-on-us-imports.html">included</a> a 25% tariff on European luxury cars, steel, and aluminum, and a 20% levy on billions of dollars of European goods ranging from food products to machinery.
Following their discussions, Trump and Meloni are scheduled to hold a joint press conference in the Rose Garden, where further details about potential trade agreements and bilateral cooperation may be announced.

US-ITALY-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-MELONI

‘There Will Be A Trade Deal, 100%’: Trump Eyes EU Agreement In Meeting With Meloni

Giorgia Meloni

Global Politics

Italy

World

The European Union will put retaliatory tariffs on the United States on hold following President Donald Trump’s Wednesday announcement that he was pausing most tariffs on all countries except China. 
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday that the body would put a 90-day pause on its retaliatory actions in order for negotiations to take place. That is the same amount of time that Trump said he would pause most tariffs on all countries but China to work out trade deals that are more favorable to the United States. 
In a statement posted on X, von der Leyen said that European retaliatory tariffs could still take effect if negotiations fell through. 
“We took note of the announcement by President Trump. We want to give negotiations a chance. While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days,” she said. “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in. Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table.”
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We took note of the announcement by President Trump.
We want to give negotiations a chance.
While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days.
If negotiations are not satisfactory, our…
&mdash; Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) <a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1910278392349327628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The announcement comes after the European Union <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-union-approves-retaliatory-tariffs-on-american-goods?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=European+Union+Approves+Retaliatory+Tariffs+On+American+Goods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> 26-1 to impose tariffs on more than $20 billion of U.S. goods. American products like soybeans, meat, iron, steel, textiles, tobacco, and ice cream were expected to be hit with tariffs of up to 25%, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/09/eu-tariffs-trump-steel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a copy of the retaliatory plan obtained by The Washington Post.
Earlier on Thursday, von der Leyen <a href="https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1910216093651632569" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> she welcomed Trump’s decision to pause most tariffs, calling it an “important step towards stabilizing the global economy.”
She also said she would support a “zero-for-zero” tariff agreement with the United States. 
“Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers. That’s why I’ve consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States,&#8221; von der Leyen said. “The European Union remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States, with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade.”
At the same time Trump paused most reciprocal tariffs he hiked the tariff on Chinese goods to 125%. That came after Chinese officials announced an 84% tariff on American goods, which went into effect on Thursday. 
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-deal-is-going-to-be-made-with-everyone-trump-speaks-after-dropping-most-tariffs-for-90-days?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=‘A+Deal+Is+Going+To+Be+Made+With+Everyone’%3A+Trump+Speaks+After+Dropping+Most+Tariffs+For+90+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Wednesday that he expected to make a deal with all countries, including China. 
“A deal is going to be made with China,” he said. “A deal is going to be made with every one of them, and there will be fair deals. I just want fair.”

Prime Minister Of Norway Visits The EU Commission

EU Puts Retaliatory Actions Against U.S. On Hold After Trump’s Tariff Pause

China

The European Commission voted on Wednesday to impose retaliatory tariffs on American goods in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to levy a tariff on European steel and aluminum.
The commission plans to impose tariffs on more than $20 billion of U.S. goods in response to the 25% tariff Trump placed on European steel and aluminum. The response comes as an additional 20% tariff on imports from the European Union went into effect at midnight on Wednesday. 
“The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” the European Union said in a joint <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/statement_25_1025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the US, which would be balanced and mutually beneficial.”
Tariffs will be applied to American products like soybeans, meat, iron, steel, textiles, tobacco, and ice cream, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/09/eu-tariffs-trump-steel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a copy of the plan obtained by The Washington Post. The outlet reported that the EU approved levies up to 25% on various U.S. products.
The body said that the retaliatory actions, which will be implemented on April 15, could be “suspended at any time” if the United States “agrees to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.” 
The retaliatory action was <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-takes-revenge-on-trumps-metals-tariffs-approved-as-countries-close-ranks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposed</a> by Hungary, which was the only country in the European Commission to vote against the proposal. 
“Escalation is not the answer. Such measures would cause further damage to European economy and citizens by raising prices. The only way forward is negotiations, not retaliation,” Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó <a href="https://x.com/FM_Szijjarto/status/1909942153268109495">posted</a> on X. 
More retaliatory actions by the European Commission are expected to follow this first round. This retaliation “will take account not only of European imports, but also of other ways in which we can respond,” <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/eu-imposes-new-tariffs-23-billion-us-goods-120636128" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to French Economic Minister Eric Lombard.
“The idea is that, with these extremely strong, extremely powerful measures, we can get to the negotiating table on an equal footing, so that both sides of these duties can be lowered and all our economic sectors protected,” he said. 
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/italys-meloni-confirms-white-house-182708200.html">visit</a> the White House on April 17 to speak with Trump about the tariffs. 
On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would be willing to negotiate with the United States for zero tariffs on industrial goods. 
“Europe is ready to negotiate with the U.S. We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods because we’re always ready for a good deal,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/e-u-ready-to-negotiate-with-trump-offers-zero-for-zero-tariffs-on-industrial-goods">said</a>. “But we’re also prepared to respond with countermeasures. And protect ourselves against indirect effects through trade diversion.”
Other countries have also retaliated against the U.S. tariffs, with China announcing plans to levy an 84% tariff on all American goods. In response, the Trump administration has stood by its approach, saying that it would look to make trade deals more favorable to the United States.

BELGIUM-EU-POLITICS

European Union Approves Retaliatory Tariffs On American Goods

The Supreme Court hands President Donald Trump two wins – one on deportation and another on downsizing the government. The stock market sees another turbulent day, leading to China increasing its reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports to 84%. And, Trump is set for nuclear negotiations with Iran but warns that the regime might be in jeopardy if talks go south.
It’s Wednesday, April 9, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scotus-trump-wins-stock-market-tariff-turbulence-4-9-25/id1576594336?i=1000702839221" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
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<h2>Supreme Court Clears The Way For Deportations &amp; DOGE</h2>
<div id="attachment_905039" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905039" class="size-large wp-image-905039" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/SCOTUS-Facade-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport alleged illegal alien gang members under a 1798 law. 
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that President Trump may use the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected gang members –  but the court also said those potential deportees have a right to due process. The decision had both sides of the case claiming victory.
“Today is a bad day to be a terrorist in the United States of America,&#8221; Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said on Monday. “Today, the Supreme Court came out with a decision that reaffirmed that President Trump was correct in using his authority on using the Alien Enemies Act to deport terrorists out of this country. Thank you President Trump for your leadership in making America safe again.”
However: The justices unanimously agreed that in each case, the alien has a right to have his deportation order reviewed by a judge. 
The case was brought by a group of Venezuelan nationals. They filed suit in the D.C. District Court and the case fell to Judge James Boasberg – who has frequently ruled against the administration. Boasberg put a freeze on not only the deportations. The Supreme Court said the lawsuit should have been filed in Texas, where the deportees were being held.
The illegal immigration case was related to a lower court judge’s deadline for the administration to return a mistakenly deported Salvadoran national to the United States. Kilmer Abrego Garcia, 29, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador – he had previously said he would face violence if deported back to his home. A judge had given the Trump administration until midnight on Monday to get him back to the United States. The administration said that timeline was impractical, and the Supreme Court agreed.
In other news: The Supreme Court knocked down a lower court order that blocked Trump from cutting 16,000 probationary workers from the federal government
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<h2>The Trade War Continues: Allies Seek Detente, Rivals Escalate</h2>
<div id="attachment_905041" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905041" class="size-large wp-image-905041" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trade-War-NYSE-Floor-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trade-War-NYSE-Floor-864x576.jpg 864w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trade-War-NYSE-Floor-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trade-War-NYSE-Floor-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trade-War-NYSE-Floor-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trade-War-NYSE-Floor-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: One week after Liberation Day, President Trump says he is gearing up for formal tariff negotiations with trade partners, offering optimism for consumers and markets as China raises its reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%. 
On Tuesday, the president announced major developments on a trade deal with South Korea, America’s sixth-largest trading partner. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he’d just finished a “great call” with acting President Han Duck-soo, <a href="https://x.com/annmarie/status/1909597238260625410">adding,</a> “We have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good.” 
According to the South Korean government, they’re willing to import more American products, particularly natural gas, in exchange for reduced tariffs. Likewise, the president said <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-spoke-ishiba-set-tough-141853292.html">Japan</a>, our fourth-largest trade partner, is sending a negotiating team to Washington to meet directly with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
In the coming days, the Trump administration will host representatives from Vietnam, our tenth-largest trading partner. And on April 17, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit the White House to negotiate on behalf of the European Union. All told, the White House says nearly 70 countries have expressed a desire to negotiate.
“To countries around the world, bring us your best offers and [President Trump] will listen,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1909660284568109505">told</a> reporters on Tuesday. “Deals will only be made if they benefit American workers and address our nation’s crippling trade deficits. America does not need other countries as much as other countries need us and President Trump knows this.”
However: Beijing appears to be digging its heels in for a drawn-out trade war. On Wednesday, China, America’s largest trading partner, said it would increase its reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports to 84%. This was after China had doubled down, saying it would “never accept such treatment” before slapping additional 34% tariffs on U.S. imports. China accused the White House of economic “blackmail,” and Trump responded with a 50% tariff on top of those already in place — starting at midnight on April 9, when the Chinese began facing 104% tariffs on all goods coming to America. It’s not exactly breaking news that the U.S. imports a lot of stuff from China — the expected price increases on those goods are clearly spooking investors.
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<h2>Trump Announces “Top Level” Talks With Iran</h2>
<div id="attachment_905047" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905047" class="size-large wp-image-905047" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Trump-with-Netanyahu-Co-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
Topline: On Monday, President Trump announced that his administration will have “top-level” direct talks with Iran.
During a meeting in the Oval Office with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump announced that he would be open to negotiations with Iran on Saturday. If these talks do not go well, Trump said that the Iranian regime will be in “great danger.”
“It’s not a complicated formula,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/KassyAkiva/status/1909339143026663769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1909339143026663769%7Ctwgr%5E7d8fe0700f7a5f78c5fbe98930a68e6e11b7c20f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Ftrump-says-iran-will-be-in-great-danger-if-saturdays-nuclear-talks-fail">said</a>. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, that’s all there is. Right now we have countries that have nuclear power that shouldn’t have it but I’m sure we will be able to negotiate out of that too as part of this later and down the line. But Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and if the talks aren’t successful, I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran.”
President Trump said the talks would be high-level and direct but declined to say where they would occur. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi later said the talks would take place in Oman and be indirect. In a post on <a href="https://x.com/araghchi/status/1909381747709546786">X</a>, Araqchi wrote, “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.” Iranian state-run media gave some more <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx25e5rd2v9o">purported details</a> – they reported that the talks would be between Araqchi and U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, with Oman’s foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi as a mediator.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks.
It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America&#39;s court.
&mdash; Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) <a href="https://twitter.com/araghchi/status/1909381747709546786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Remember: Trump was an outspoken critic of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, calling it “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into” and withdrew from it in 2018. Throughout his entire first term, Trump waged a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran in hopes of curbing both its nuclear program and its support of terror around the world. Under President Joe Biden, Iran’s various proxy groups in the Middle East ramped up their aggression: in Yemen, the Houthis began attacking shipping vessels in the Red Sea, and in Gaza, Hamas launched the October 7 terror attacks, killing roughly 1,200 people in Israel. 
Trump is pursuing a deal now because Iran is reportedly <a href="https://isis-online.org/isis-reports/detail/the-iran-threat-geiger-counter-extreme-danger-grows">weeks away</a> from producing a nuclear weapon. The Trump administration has taken<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-shares-footage-of-military-strike-on-houthis-they-will-never-sink-our-ships-again"> extensive military action</a> against the Houthis, which could be construed as a show of force against their Iranian backers, and American military assets have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irans-military-commanders-locked-and-loaded-for-preemptive-strike-on-u-s-bombers-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surged</a> to the region in preparation for a possible strike.

Gavel And U.S. Supreme Court Building

Morning Brief: Trump SCOTUS Wins, Trade War & Nuclear Talks With Iran

Immigration

Iran

Iran Nuclear

Israel

Japan

Media

Morning Wire

South Korea

Supreme Court

For the third consecutive day of trading following President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariff rollout, U.S. stock indexes dipped as Wall Street anxiously awaits the result of the president&#8217;s aggressive move.
The Dow Jones ended Monday down 349 points (0.9%) while the S&amp;P 500 dropped 0.2%, which was a big recovery from earlier in the day when it was down 4.7% at its low. The Nasdaq was down 3% earlier on Monday, but ended the day up 0.1% thanks to investors going in on tech stocks, such as Nvidia and Palantir.
Trading was a rollercoaster ride early in the day as stocks suddenly skyrocketed following a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-shoots-down-reports-claiming-trump-considering-tariff-pause?row=0&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;title=White+House+Shoots+Down+Reports+Claiming+Trump+Considering+Tariff+Pause&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">false report</a> that spread on social media claiming that President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day tariff reprieve. The Dow Jones saw a record swing, dropping by more than 1,700 points in the morning before going up 2,595 points. The S&amp;P 500 swung from down 4.7% to up 3.4% during morning trading.
After the dramatic swing on Wall Street Monday morning, investors became uneasy again when Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-gives-china-deadline-to-remove-retaliatory-tariff-or-face-additional-50?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;row=1&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;title=Trump+Gives+China+Deadline+To+Remove+Retaliatory+Tariff+Or+Face+Additional+50%25&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to hit China with an additional 50% tariff after the communist country levied a 34% retaliatory tariff on the United States on Friday. Trump gave China a deadline of Tuesday “to withdraw” its retaliatory tariff on the United States before he moves forward with more tariffs. If the additional 50% tariff goes into effect, it would be added onto the 34% tariff imposed by Trump last week, which was put in place on top of a 20% levy the president imposed on China shortly after taking office.
Apple shares fell by over 5% in response to increased trade tensions with China and ended the day down <a href="https://www.cnn.com/markets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3.7%</a>. Tesla was also down 2.6%, and Amazon climbed 2.5%.
While Wall Street remains wary of the impending global trade war, many countries appear willing to come to the negotiating table to avoid Trump&#8217;s hefty tariffs. On Monday, the European Union <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/e-u-ready-to-negotiate-with-trump-offers-zero-for-zero-tariffs-on-industrial-goods?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;row=1&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;title=E.U.+%E2%80%98Ready+To+Negotiate%E2%80%99+With+Trump%2C+Offers+%E2%80%98Zero-For-Zero+Tariffs+On+Industrial+Goods%E2%80%99&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it offered the United States &#8220;zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods,&#8221; and Trump held &#8220;a very constructive phone discussion&#8221; with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Following Trump&#8217;s call with Ishiba, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-golden-age-of-global-trade-bessent-opens-negotiations-with-japan-following-trumps-tariffs?row=3&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;title=%E2%80%98New+Golden+Age+Of+Global+Trade%E2%80%99%3A+Bessent+Opens+Negotiations+With+Japan+Following+Trump%E2%80%99s+Tariffs&amp;category=News&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he will meet with Japanese leaders to seek out a new trade agreement. Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-revives-possible-sale-of-u-s-steel-to-japans-nippon-steel?row=3&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;author=Tim+Pearce&amp;title=Trump+Revives+Possible+Sale+Of+U.S.+Steel+To+Japan%E2%80%99s+Nippon+Steel&amp;category=News&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> a new review of the possible sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.
“Japan remains among America’s closest allies, and I look forward to our upcoming productive engagement regarding tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, currency issues, and government subsidies,” Bessent said. “I appreciate the Japanese government’s outreach and measured approach to this process.”
On Monday afternoon, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-pledges-to-eliminate-israels-trade-deficit-with-u-s-in-hopes-of-avoiding-tariffs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;row=1&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;title=Netanyahu+Pledges+To+Eliminate+Israel%E2%80%99s+Trade+Deficit+With+U.S.+In+Hopes+Of+Avoiding+Tariffs&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met</a> with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where Netanyahu pledged to &#8220;eliminate the trade deficit with the United States &#8230; very quickly.&#8221; The meeting took place after Trump hit Israel with a 17% tariff.
According to Treasury Secretary Bessent, &#8220;Over 50 countries have responded both openly and positively to @POTUS @realDonaldTrump’s historic action to create a fairer, more prosperous system of global trade.&#8221;
&#8220;We look forward to meaningful negotiations with them over the coming weeks,&#8221; Bessent added.

Stock Market

Stocks Fall For Third Straight Day As Trump Barrels Through Tariff Fight

Communist China

U.S.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that the European Union wants to negotiate tariffs with President Donald Trump and has already offered the United States &#8220;zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods.&#8221;
The Trump administration hit the E.U. with a 20% tax when the president unveiled his &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs on countries around the globe. The tariff on E.U. imports is set to go into effect on Wednesday, but European leaders hope to strike a deal to avoid the hefty tax.
&#8220;Europe is ready to negotiate with the US. We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods because we&#8217;re always ready for a good deal,&#8221; von der Leyen <a href="https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1909238427272307101">said</a>. &#8220;But we’re also prepared to respond with countermeasures. And protect ourselves against indirect effects through trade diversion.&#8221;
The 20% tariff on E.U. imports is on top of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/europe-tariffs-us-trump-slaps-duties-aluminum-steel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25% tariff</a> on European steel and aluminum that Trump imposed last month, which affects around $28 billion worth of goods. In response to Trump&#8217;s tariffs, the E.U. has slapped taxes on American meat, dairy, and alcohol, among other products. The E.U.&#8217;s tariffs on American imports began on April 1 and are set to go into full effect on April 13.
In a fact sheet on Trump&#8217;s tariffs, the White House called out the E.U. for imposing a steep tariff on American vehicle imports. The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, &#8220;For example, the United States imposes a 2.5 percent tariff on passenger vehicle imports (with internal combustion engines), while the European Union (10 percent), India (70 percent), and China (15 percent) impose much higher duties on the same product.&#8221;
E.U. representatives from 27 bloc countries are preparing to vote on additional retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods on Wednesday. E.U. Trade Minister Maros Sefcovic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/world/europe/europe-tariffs-trump-response.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that European leaders &#8220;are fully prepared to sit at the negotiation table whenever our American partners are ready,&#8221; adding, “While the E.U. remains open to and strongly prefers negotiations, we will not wait endlessly. We are prepared to use every tool in our trade defense arsenal.”

Ursula von der Leyen/ Donald Trump

E.U. ‘Ready To Negotiate’ With Trump, Offers ‘Zero-For-Zero Tariffs On Industrial Goods’

The European Union is considering levying a $1 billion fine against Elon Musk&#8217;s X, alleging that the social media company has violated its law against disinformation and illicit content, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/technology/eu-penalties-x-elon-musk.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Along with the hefty fine, the E.U. would also demand that X make changes to its product, according to the Times, which cited &#8220;four people with knowledge of the plans.&#8221; If the E.U. moves forward, it would be the first fine imposed by the body using its Digital Services Act (DSA). The <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act_en#:~:text=Digital%20Services%20Act%20(DSA)%20overview,and%20open%20online%20platform%20environment." target="_blank" rel="noopener">DSA</a> &#8220;regulates online intermediaries and platforms &#8230; to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation.&#8221;
The social media company formerly known as Twitter, which Musk said he took over to restore free speech, <a href="https://x.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1907963263419297893" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to the potential enforcement of the E.U.&#8217;s social media law, saying the move would be &#8220;an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on free speech.&#8221;
&#8220;X has gone above and beyond to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of speech in Europe,&#8221; the company added.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino <a href="https://x.com/lindayaX/status/1907980612947841444" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;This would be an egregious example of regulatory overreach. X continues to fight the attempts to stifle free speech taking place around the world, whether on our platform or off. We’re committed to protect this fundamental right for our users.&#8221;
Last July, the E.U. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_3761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a> that X violated the DSA &#8220;in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers.&#8221; In its report, the E.U. claimed that X verifies accounts and hands out &#8220;Blue checkmarks&#8221; in a way that &#8220;deceives users.&#8221;
&#8220;Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a &#8216;verified&#8217; status, it negatively affects users&#8217; ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,&#8221; the E.U. said.
The E.U. also accused X of failing to provide adequate transparency in advertising and failing to hand over its public data to researchers &#8220;in line with the conditions set out in the DSA.&#8221;
E.U. regulators reportedly hit the brakes on the investigation into X to discuss potential ramifications for going after a company controlled by one of President Donald Trump&#8217;s closest advisers and top donor. The E.U. has also been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration as Vice President JD Vance called out the bloc during a speech in February, slamming the E.U. for its digital censorship.
The Times reported that Musk&#8217;s social media company could still settle the dispute with the E.U., but that would likely require X to make changes to satisfy the governing body. If X chooses to fight the fine, it&#8217;s unclear how the legal process would play out between the American social media company and the E.U. The bloc is also going after U.S. tech companies Meta and Apple for allegedly violating the DSA.

Elon Musk

E.U. Reportedly Considering Massive Fine For Elon Musk’s X Over ‘Disinformation’

Big Tech

Europe

Social Media

Twitter

On Wednesday, President Trump declared that it was “Liberation Day.” He said this is our economic Declaration of Independence now.
The markets were rocked after the announcement and there’s a reason why, which I will explain.
The president seems to believe that international trade is a zero-sum game. His giant tariff policy is predicated on a few false notions about the American economy. One is that the American economy has been a giant failure for the last 40 years. That is simply not true. This is a myth that is propagated by both parties.
I know, it&#8217;s a fun myth. It&#8217;s something people like to believe, that yesterday was economically better than today.
But then you look at all the stuff around you, the phone in your pocket, the computer, the fact that you can literally order any product at any time from anywhere on earth and it arrives at your doorstep in two days at a price you can afford, and you think to yourself: Would I rather live in 1980 when the only person with a cell phone was Gordon Gekko on a beach holding a shoe box to his head, when central air conditioning was kind of a rarity? When the cars, if you were lucky, had electric windows? Was that better? Were things better simply on an economic level?
Forget about everything else. You can make a case about the descent on the spiritual level. You can make a case about the dissolution of the family. I agree with many of those cases. But we&#8217;re not talking about the life of the spirit within. We&#8217;re talking about economics, which is the distribution of goods and services.
America has done well for decades and has not stopped. A myth that all politicians like to tell is that America has not done well, that America has been hollowed out by deindustrialization and we are not actually manufacturing anymore in this country.
That is not true. In 1997, the United States was producing $1.4 trillion in real manufacturing value added. In 2025, we are producing $2.4 trillion. That is an arithmetic increase.
So, if we are manufacturing more, why aren&#8217;t there more manufacturing jobs? The answer is technology. We manufacture more because we have better robots and they are doing much of the work that people seem to have a very warm and fuzzy feeling about, but then never want to do themselves.
I notice a lot of people say, “Why can&#8217;t I have a factory job just like in 1955 at Ford? Working in a non-air conditioned factory riveting all day?” It’s unlikely that’s your ideal job.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2172-member-exclusive?row=2&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
We&#8217;ve been told the lie that the American middle class has been hollowed out by international trade.
But here is what actually happened to the American middle-class over the course of the last several decades. The American middle-class stayed approximately the same or shrank a little bit. Why did it shrink? Not because people became lower middle-class or poor, but because a huge number of Americans went into the upper middle-class. The number one change in the status of American families in terms of income from just before 1980 to about 2015 was a 16% increase in the upper middle-class.
In other words, people got richer. And by the way, everyone got richer, including the poor, because the stuff you can get as a poor person in America in 2025 is way better than the stuff you could get as a poor person in America in 1980. That&#8217;s just a reality.
How about wages? We keep hearing that wages are stagnant and have been stagnant since 1979. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, there was a steep increase in wages between 1980 and 2025. 
I know this cuts against the conventional political wisdom, which says that the American economy sucks and it&#8217;s because everybody is cheating us. 
One of the things President Trump is predicating his tariff war upon is the idea that trade deficits are inherently bad. A trade deficit is where, in terms of value, we import more stuff than we export. As I have pointed out before, you have a trade deficit with literally every business you do business with unless they&#8217;re buying your product.
So, for example, I have a trade deficit with my local grocery store, a huge trade deficit. They have received pretty much nothing from me. But I have bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of groceries over the years from my local grocery. They’re not taking advantage of me; I&#8217;m getting value for my dollar in the form of food and supplies.
As the great economist Thomas Sowell points out, “If the goods and services available to the American people are greater as a result of international trade, then Americans are wealthier, not poorer, regardless of whether there is a deficit or a surplus in the international balance of trade.”
In fact, I can name a period in American history where there was a fairly large surplus in America&#8217;s balance of trade: the entire Great Depression.
As it turns out, trade deficits have pretty much nothing to do with the health of an economy. They don&#8217;t tell you very much.
19th century French economist Frédéric Bastiat once wrote on this topic, essentially saying, “Look, if you&#8217;re so worried about trade imbalances, then actually what you should do is you should sink ships filled with your own exports before they ever get to the other side.” So if we&#8217;re exporting oranges to Europe and they&#8217;re going to send us apples in return, the best way to ensure that no trade imbalance takes place is we should send our oranges out of the country and sink the ship before it ever gets to Europe so they can&#8217;t send us apples back. Then we’ll have a large export on our ledger and no imports. Great idea. The economy will be stronger.
So, there is a fundamental misunderstanding of trade deficits. This is not about balance of payments, which is a different thing. Balance of payments is about the flow of gold. We&#8217;re no longer in a gold standard, but it&#8217;s about currencies.
Trade deficits are a different thing.
In reality, I think the Trump administration is likely to try and leverage headlines out of various foreign nations suggesting they&#8217;re going to invest in America to the tune of some billions of dollars before lowering the tariff rates again.
I do have faith that President Trump actually responds to headlines and to the news. He lives in the world of reality and won’t simply ignore that the markets hate all of this.
Yesterday, The White House quietly put out a fact sheet that read:
<blockquote>These tariffs will remain in effect until such a time as President Trump determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying nonreciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved, or mitigated. Today’s IEEPA Order also contains modification authority, allowing President Trump to increase the tariff if trading partners retaliate or decrease the tariffs if trading partners take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align with the United States on economic and national security matters.</blockquote>
Now, other countries could say they will invest in the American economy and President Trump gets a huge win. That could happen. I&#8217;m hoping that&#8217;s what Trump is planning on doing.
Is President Trump going to send out surrogates, like the Treasury Secretary, to walk some of this back and to try to point out where an off-ramp is? Or is he just going to keep doubling down on the theory that it&#8217;s short-term pain for long-term gain? If so, he&#8217;s going to have to explain how short-term the pain is and what exactly the long-term gain is, because that has not even been spelled out at this point. Is the idea that other countries are going to reshore to the United States to take advantage of our markets in some way, but we will leave tariffs on stuff that they export to us? They could also form trade blocs themselves and then go make time with the Chinese.
There are real-world implications for this sort of stuff. Trade wars are not good and not easy to win, particularly if you don&#8217;t actually have a plan. You actually have to have a plan.
So, I want somebody to make the case as to why this is actually excellent policy, why this is going to be salutary for the United States, why this is going to benefit the people of the United States en masse. And if you&#8217;re going to call for sacrifice from the American people, the question is, what is the thing on the other side of that sacrifice that is better and good?
What I&#8217;ve heard so far is a lot of casting of various aspersions at foreign countries for engaging in trade with us, regardless of whether they are good or bad, because we&#8217;re treating Canada the same way we&#8217;re treating China.
This is why I think the markets are confused. Investors are confused. Confusion and fear are going to breed sell-off. Less investment, less job growth.
It&#8217;s all avoidable. We need to hear an actual narrative, not a bunch of talking points that are generated from a cork board filled with statistics made up by some sort of AI.

President Trump Holds “Make America Wealthy Again Event” In White House Rose Garden

Liberation Day. What’s The Plan?

Ben Shapiro

Economics

Foreign Policy

Money

Opinion

President Trump

A French court has now banned Marine Le Pen, who is highly likely to win the next election in France, from seeking public office for five years. The court convicted her of misusing European Union funds.
&#8220;The court ruled that Le Pen and other members of her party illegally used 4.4 million euros, equivalent to $4.8 million, in EU funding that was earmarked for assistants helping lawmakers in the European Parliament with their work,&#8221; The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/frances-marine-le-pen-found-guilty-of-embezzlement-b8c42dac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. &#8220;Monday’s sentence bars Le Pen from seeking public office for the next five years, thrusting her far-right party into limbo. Le Pen also received a four-year prison sentence. Half of that term was suspended, judges said, adding that she could serve the remaining two years by using an electronic bracelet or other alternatives to jail time. The ruling takes Le Pen out of contention for the 2027 race, unless she can win a swift appeal. Le Pen had been expected to enter that contest as a front-runner as President Emmanuel Macron will be term limited and other prominent contenders have yet to emerge.&#8221;
This is crazy — but this is part and parcel of the broader attempt by Left-wing judiciary activists across the globe to stop “populist politicians” from being able to run.
We saw it with President Trump, where the DOJ went after him for supposed crimes, the same crimes for which they let Joe Biden off the hook. We saw it in New York, where a New York attorney general filed a civil fraud lawsuit in an attempt to stop then-candidate Trump.
We have seen it in Brazil, where the entire judicial apparatus has been brought down on the head of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, in favor of Lula da Silva, who was then freed by that same exact judiciary.
We&#8217;ve seen it in Romania, where Cǎlin Georgescu won the election in 2024 and then the judiciary decided the election had been rigged by the Russians and annulled it. 
We have seen it in Israel, where the attorney general of Israel has been targeting Benjamin Netanyahu on specious charges for literally years, and the judiciary keep saying that Netanyahu can&#8217;t perform the basic functions of an executive, such as fire his attorney general or fire anyone in the executive branch.
And now we are seeing it in France.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2169-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
It is absolutely amazing to watch these unelected officials going out of their way to thwart the will of the people in supposed democracies. It&#8217;s really insane.
You want to talk about undermining democracy itself? This undermines democracy because the reaction to this is, “Okay, what if we just overthrow the judicial institutions?”
Why do I feel like this is a put-up job? Because it takes effect immediately. The point is to get her out of the elections. Thus they&#8217;re suspending her jail sentence but they are not suspending her ban from running.
Le Pen had denied the charges, “testifying in court that it was appropriate for the assistants to perform other party-related work because they were political aides, not direct employees of the European Parliament,” the Journal noted.
In other words, if the European Parliament didn’t want them focused solely on party-related tasks, perhaps it should have hired them directly, rather than paying the party to handle some of its work. That sounds like a strong defense.
Is the idea here that Marine Le Pen desperately needed a couple of million euros in order to pay off her political party? I feel like she probably could have raised it. Her party&#8217;s pretty big in France.
This is just the latest NATO member to reject a populist candidate by some sort of judicial intervention.
If you want to talk about undermining the argument that democracy must flourish in Europe, this would be a great way to do it.

FRANCE-POLITICS-JUSTICE-TRIAL-RN

Marine Le Pen Banned From Running

Conservatives

Corruption

France

Judiciary

Leftists

Marine Le Pen

Parliament

Populism

Prison

French opposition leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for political office following her conviction — along with several others in France&#8217;s Right-leaning National Rally Party — on charges of embezzling public funds.
The charges against Le Pen involved funding from the European Parliament to her party — some of which prosecutors said she had used to pay her own personal assistant and bodyguard.
Prosecutors asked that Le Pen receive two years in prison and five years of political ineligibility — the latter ensuring that she would not be able to run for president in 2027, a race she is currently favored to win.
Le Pen, who claimed prior to her sentencing that barring her from running would amount to &#8220;political death,&#8221; came in second to current French President Emmanuel Macron in the last two elections, and her party has been steadily gaining support. She argued that the court&#8217;s move to declare her ineligible to run would effectively disenfranchise millions of voters.
&#8220;There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election,&#8221; she said ahead of the sentencing. She stormed out of the courtroom on Monday before her full sentence had been announced.
Le Pen, who claimed prior to the sentencing that the prosecution&#8217;s goal had been to sideline her in the 2027 election, doubled down in a Monday appearance on French television network TF1: &#8220;It was a political decision that was made. The magistrate took it upon herself to implement the provisional execution of the ineligibility, to render my appeal on this matter useless in order to prevent me from standing and being elected President of the Republic.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
C’est une décision politique qui a été rendue.
La magistrate a assumé de mettre en œuvre l&#39;exécution provisoire de l&#39;inéligibilité, de rendre mon appel inutile sur ce sujet pour m&#39;empêcher de me présenter et d&#39;être élue présidente de la République. <a href="https://t.co/N7TlTc4r9f">pic.twitter.com/N7TlTc4r9f</a>
&mdash; Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLP_officiel/status/1906777645557408031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Le Pen is not the only person to believe that the move was primarily political. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini summed up his thoughts in a post on X, saying, &#8220;Those who fear the judgment of voters often seek reassurance from the courts. In Paris, they have condemned Marine Le Pen and would like to remove her from political life. A bad situation that is also being observed in other countries such as Romania. What is happening against @MLP_officiel is a declaration of war from Brussels, at a time when the belligerent impulses of Von der Leyen and Macron are terrifying. We are not intimidated, we are not stopped: full speed ahead, my friend!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ceux qui craignent le jugement des électeurs cherchent souvent à se rassurer par celui des tribunaux. À Paris, ils ont condamné Marine Le Pen et aimeraient l’écarter de la vie politique. Un mauvais film que l’on observe également dans d’autres pays comme la Roumanie. Ce qui se…
&mdash; Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) <a href="https://twitter.com/matteosalvinimi/status/1906666355572511062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A number also pointed out via X that what had happened to Le Pen was exactly what Vice President JD Vance had been sounding the alarm about when he said that the major threats Europe faced would come from within.
&#8220;Less than 2 months after @JDVance warned that the greatest threat to Europe was from within, leftists in France have banned Marine Le Pen from running for President despite being the leading candidate. Fill up the JD Vance was right jar!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Less than 2 months after <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDVance</a> warned that the greatest threat to Europe was from within, leftists in France have banned Marine Le Pen from running for President despite being the leading candidate. Fill up the JD Vance was right jar! <a href="https://t.co/J0kylN0R8F">pic.twitter.com/J0kylN0R8F</a>
&mdash; Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1906709158499328259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister On Le Pen Conviction: ‘A Declaration Of War From Brussels’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stood before reporters on Monday and listed off multiple tariffs imposed on American products by foreign nations, arguing that the &#8220;unfair trade practices&#8221; need to come to an end.
Leavitt pointed to massive tariffs from the European Union, Japan, India, and Canada, saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s time for reciprocity.&#8221; President Donald Trump is preparing to announce a round of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, a day he has labeled &#8220;Liberation Day in America.&#8221;
&#8220;If you look at the unfair trade practices that we have: 50% from the European Union on American dairy. You have a 700% tariff from Japan on American rice. You have a 100% tariff from India on American agricultural products. You have nearly a 300% tariff from Canada on American butter and American cheese,&#8221; Leavitt said, holding up a chart on a piece of paper. &#8220;This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it puts a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades.&#8221;
Countries often impose tariffs on foreign goods to protect industries that are vital to their economies. As the world&#8217;s largest economic powerhouse, the United States has allowed foreign imports to flood its markets while American exports have been on the receiving end of stiff tariffs. The Trump administration argues that the tariff discrepancy is unfair and hurts American companies and workers. Leavitt promised that Trump will bring &#8220;historic change&#8221; to America&#8217;s trade relationships with his actions on Wednesday.
&#8220;Unfortunately, these countries have been ripping off our country for far too long,&#8221; the press secretary said. &#8220;And they&#8217;ve made their disdain, I think, for the American worker quite clear.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> details the unfair trade practices that are hurting American business:
&#8211; 50% tariff from the EU on American dairy &#8211; 700% tariff from Japan on rice &#8211; 100% tariff from India on agricultural products
&quot;This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be… <a href="https://t.co/PI9inicgdX">pic.twitter.com/PI9inicgdX</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1906762630498267464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last week, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tariffs-very-strongly-work-trump-announces-21-billion-hyundai-investment-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">credited</a> tariffs for bringing manufacturing jobs to American soil after South Korean carmaker Hyundai announced it will invest $21 billion in the United States over the next four years. Other major foreign companies, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Japan’s SoftBank, recently announced multi-billion-dollar investments in U.S. manufacturing.
As Trump gears up to impose more tariffs on foreign trade partners, the White House is trying to calm fears about the tariffs putting more financial strain on Americans. During an interview with Shannon Bream on &#8220;Fox News Sunday,&#8221; White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tariff-escalation-wont-cause-inflation-foreigners-will-eat-most-of-it-trump-trade-counselor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that &#8220;foreigners are going to eat most&#8221; of the tariff burden.
&#8220;They have to; we’re the biggest market in the world, Shannon,” he added. “And they have to be here. They have to be here. And so they’re going to cut their prices to absorb that.”

Karoline Leavitt

‘It’s Time For Reciprocity’: Leavitt Shows List Of ‘Unfair’ Tariffs Targeting American Products

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