April 7, 2025 – Donald Trump presidency news

• Markets and trade war: President Donald Trump threatened to add new 50% tariffs on China if Beijing doesn’t remove its retaliatory duties by tomorrow and said “he’s not looking” at a pause in enforcing the sweeping tariffs he announced last week. Global markets tumbled earlier today, while US stocks mostly fell after an extremely volatile day Monday.

• SCOTUS rules in Trump’s favor: The Supreme Court allowed Donald Trump to enforce the Alien Enemies Act for now, handing the White House a significant victory that will let immigration officials rely on a sweeping wartime authority to rapidly deport alleged gang members.

• Trump meets with Netanyahu: Trump’s tariff commentscame during a meeting withIsraeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House after the US hit Israel with 17% tariffs. Netanyahu said his country will eliminate the trade deficit and trade barriers with the US “very quickly.” Meanwhile, the EU said it is “ready to negotiate” with the US and offer zero tariffs on industrial goods.

Our live coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

President Donald Trump fired a senior US military official at NATO today, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island said in a news release.

The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee called the dismissal of Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the US military representative to the NATO Military Committee, “disgraceful” and “unjustified.”

It was not immediately clear why Chatfield was fired. The move comes amid a purge of senior leadership in the military aimed at those who have been the target of right-wing criticism.

Chatfield was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to the post in December 2023. She previously was the first female president of the US Naval War College, a role she took on in 2019.

Reuters was first to report that Chatfield was removed from her position. The Defense Department and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index opened about 2% higher on Tuesday, recovering some losses following its worst day of trading in almost three decades.

The index closed 13.2% lower on Monday. It was the biggest one-day drop since October 1997, during the tough days of the Asian financial crisis.

The index is composed of stocks from some of Hong Kong’s and mainland China’s largest listed companies, including Alibaba, HSBC, Tencent, Meituan and Xiaomi. Some of those shares bounced back Tuesday. Alibaba opened 4.8% higher, while HSBC rose 2.7% and Tencent increased 1.7%.

After Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets plummeted, Central Huijin Investment, an arm of China’s sovereign wealth fund, promised to increase its share holdings to “resolutely maintain” the smooth operation of the stock market.

And in a statement released just before stock markets opened on Tuesday, the People’s Bank of China said it “firmly supported” Central Huijin Investment in increasing its holdings of stock market index funds. It vowed to provide “ample re-lending support” to Central Hujin when necessary to resolutely maintain the stable operation of the capital market.

Other Chinese state-backed funds — including China Chengtong Holdings Group, China Reform Holdings and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation — also announced plans to increase holdings.

Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, stressed the resilience of the city’s stock market on Monday in response to the rout, saying that the stock market has been functioning orderly.

“We do not think the current volatility in the market warrants the taking of any drastic measures,” he said at a news conference.

China’s Commerce Ministry says it “firmly opposes” the additional 50% tariffs on Chinese imports threatened by US President Donald Trump on Monday, calling it “a mistake on top of a mistake.”

It denounced Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” as “completely unfounded” and “typical unilateral bullying.”

“The US threat to escalate tariffs is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the US.

China will never accept this. If the US insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,” the ministry said.

Reiterating that there are no winners in a trade war, the ministry emphasized that “pressure and threats are not the right way to engage with China.”

“We urge the US to immediately correct its erroneous practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, stop suppressing China in the economic and trade sphere, and resolve differences properly through equal dialogue based on mutual respect,” the statement added.

Vietnam has promised to buy more American goods, including defense and security products, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in a statement issued on Monday, according to a Reuters report.

Chinh was quoted as saying the country will also seek faster deliveries of commercial planes that Vietnamese airlines had ordered from the US.

The Southeast Asian country is a major clothing and footwear manufacturing hub for brands like Adidas and Nike and is seeking to delay the 46% tariffs imposed by Trump.

Many countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia — including Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Sri Lanka — were hit by tariffs of over 40%, which could cripple their export-reliant and extremely vulnerable economies.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent an email to DHS component agencies tonight announcing that employees would once again have the choice to accept deferred resignation or early retirement options, according to a copy of the email obtained by CNN.

Employees have just one week to accept.

Noem also made clear that law enforcement officials within DHS “will be exempt from participation in these programs due to their essential mission-critical responsibilities.”

The Trump administration originally offered the deferred resignation program to about 2 million employees across the federal government, with limited time to accept. Roughly 75,000 participants signed up. Workers were notified about the initial offer in a mass email from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line of “Fork in the Road,” the same subject line billionaire Elon Musk used when culling employees at Twitter after he purchased it.

Noem’s Monday email comes amid tension at DHS agencies, particularly the US Secret Service where agents have been bracing for cuts.

The email, titled: “Reshaping of the DHS workforce,” lists several options for voluntary separation including a $25,000 lump sum “buyout,” voluntary early retirement, and deferred resignation which allows employees a brief period of administrative leave to submit retirement paperwork and wrap up tasks.

“By offering these options, we intend to provide flexibility for employees who may be considering a change, retirement, or new career opportunities,” Noem wrote.

Notably absent from the email are specific cuts that have been anticipated at component agencies.

It’s looking like a more positive day for Asian stocks, after a historic rout today.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, which tracks more than 200 of the country’s biggest listed companies, opened in the black and was last trading more than 5% higher after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke with US President Donald Trump just hours before.

Shortly after the two leaders spoke on a call today, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced he and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would lead trade talks with Japan, a US treaty ally.

Bessent wrote in a post on X, that Trump has tasked them to “open negotiations to implement the President’s vision for the new Golden Age of Global Trade.”

Earlier today, Ishiba had told Trump that Japan was the largest foreign investor in the US. The prime minister “expressed strong concerns” that the tariffs could weaken the capacity of Japanese companies to continue investing, according to a statement from his office.

Ishiba added that instead of imposing tariffs, both countries should pursue efforts that provide mutual benefits.

In South Korea, the Kospi was last trading 1.5% higher. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 was about 1% higher.

President Donald Trump said today is “a great day for justice in America” after the Supreme Court decision that allows him to enforce the Alien Enemies Act, for now.

The unsigned decision in the case, the most closely watched emergency appeal pending at the Supreme Court, lets Trump invoke the 1798 law to speed removals while litigation over the act’s use plays out in lower courts. The court stressed that people deported going forward should receive notice that they are subject to the act and an opportunity to have their removal reviewed.

The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the decision, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a member of the court’s conservative wing, partially dissented.

Trump framed his emergency appeal as a fight over judicial power and, specifically, US District Judge James Boasberg’s order that temporarily blocked the president from enforcing the Alien Enemies Act against five Venezuelans who sued and a broader class of people who might be affected — in other words, anyone else. By granting the president’s request, the Supreme Court has tossed out Boasberg’s orders.

Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, said Monday that the markets are “finding the bottom now” and he guaranteed there will be “no recession.”

Navarro’s comments come as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that Trump’s tariffs could raise prices, tip the global economy into recession and weaken America’s standing in the world by tearing up its alliances.

Global markets tumbled earlier today, while US stocks mostly fell after an extremely volatile day Monday.

House Republicans stood behind President Donald Trump’s trade policies as markets react to the uncertainty caused by sweeping global tariffs, asserting that their constituents will benefit in the long run, while brushing off short-term consequences.

Here’s what some GOP lawmakers are saying:

House Speaker Mike Johnson, with significant work ahead of him to garner enough support for the Senate’s budget blueprint, is meeting with holdouts and stressing the need for urgency at this step in the process.

“We’ll have some very thoughtful discussions tonight. I’ll be visiting the Freedom Caucus meeting and other subgroups of members,” Johnson told reporters.

When asked for his pitch to skeptical far-right members, Johnson said: “We got to continue moving the ball up the field, and that’s my message to these colleagues.”

“We do not have time to wait around for (the Senate) to go through all the laborious effort that we’ve gone through. And so, the House has to do its work, and we’re going to do it in close collaboration with the Senate and the White House, and all of that will begin as soon as we can get past start,” he said.

“I think we need to get this done this week,” he said.

Johnson is threatening weekend work if the House can’t get the budget passed by Thursday.

The US and Iran will hold “high-level” talks in Oman on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X.

His comments come after US President Donald Trump said today that a “very big meeting” would take place Saturday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program.

Though Araghchi is describing the talks as “indirect,” a person familiar with the plans confirmed to CNN earlier today that US officials are expected to sit down with Iranian officials to directly discuss a nuclear deal on Saturday in a meeting hosted by Oman.

The source could not say who would participate and at what level. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, is believed to be handling the Iran file.

Direct talks between the US and Iran could represent a blow to Israel, which has long advocated for striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Trump has indicated a preference for negotiating over Iran’s nuclear program.

This post has been updated with comments from Iran’s foreign minister.

As President Donald Trump’s new tariffs shook global markets and sent foreign leaders scrambling this weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flew to Mar-a-Lago with a message.

It was imperative to get the administration’s tariff communications aligned, Bessent told Trump, and more focused on the endgame for Americans: better trade deals with foreign nations, according to people familiar with the conversation.

The risk in not doing so would be further market turmoil, Bessent conveyed.

Five days after Trump announced the new tariffs in a splashy Rose Garden event, foreign leaders and US investors alike are all looking for clues of how willing the president is to negotiate down the duties, the highest of which take effect on Wednesday.

As those outside observers pore over interviews and remarks from Trump’s constellation of economic advisers, it has not been explicitly clear what it will take to end the global trade war.

The meeting was first reported by Politico.

President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social today that he supports the Senate’s budget plan.

The House must adopt the Senate-passed budget plan to unlock the filibuster-proof process known as budget reconciliation, which Republicans will use to extend Trump’s tax cuts and deliver new national security funding — as well as potentially cut federal spending.

The Supreme Court today allowed President Donald Trump to enforce the Alien Enemies Act for now, handing the White House a significant victory that will let immigration officials rely on a sweeping wartime authority to rapidly deport alleged gang members.

The court stressed that people deported going forward should receive notice they are subject to the act and an opportunity to have their removal reviewed.

Here’s how some members of Trump’s Cabinet reacted:

CNN’s Clay Voytek and Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post, which was updated with reactions from Bondi and Noem.

Several Republican senators said that they “hope” the new tariffs will be short term and will force world leaders to the negotiating table, despite the administration’s insistence that they will dig in. One senator went so far as to say it was “a fairly encouraging day.”

“Hopefully, they won’t be long-term,” GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer said. He argued the tariffs are having the “intended effect” and pressuring other countries to roll back their own tariffs on the US.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn agreed: “It seems to me like he’s getting a positive reaction from our trading partners, who seem to be eager to go to zero on tariffs.”

Cornyn told CNN: “My hope is it’ll be done sooner rather than later, because the volatility obviously is concerning, but the sooner they’re over, the better for everybody, including the United States.”

However, Cramer acknowledged that even a short downturn in the market can have a lasting impact. “I’m still optimistic about it, I’m not panicking, but, you know, even something this dramatic in the market can have long-term effect, even if it’s a short-term problem. I mean, I’m not looking at my 401K for a while, I know that,” he said.

President Donald Trump will have his annual physical at Walter Reed on Friday, he said in a social media post today.

While running for his second term as president, Trump released relatively little detailed information about his medical history.

In November 2023, Trump posted on social media a letter from his doctor, Dr. Bruce Aronwald, in which the doctor said Trump’s “overall health is excellent.”

Iran’s Nour News has cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s announcement that direct talks will take place on Saturday between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The outlet, which is affiliated with Iran’s top security body, described the claim as a “psychological operation designed to influence domestic and foreign public opinion.”

“(It) is not an indication of diplomatic reality but rather a clever attempt to engineer public opinion and advance the war of narratives,” the outlet said.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment when asked about direct talks or the meeting that Trump announced.

Earlier today, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state media: “The idea of direct talks has been repeatedly rejected by us, but we are prepared for indirect discussions mediated by Oman.”

Also speaking before Trump’s announcement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei sad the US had not responded to Iran’s “generous” offer of indirect negotiations.

Shirin Faqiri contributed reporting to this post.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States said in a statement today that “pressuring or threatening” China is “not a right way to engage,” after US President Donald Trump threatened to add new 50% tariffs on the country.

“China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement to CNN following the US threats, which reiterated the country’s previous position on the matter.

The spokesperson said the Trump administration’s tariff plan “serves its selfish interests at the expense of other countries’ legitimate interests and puts ‘America first’ over international rules.”

“This is a typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier today, Trump said he’s ready to slap new 50% tariffs on China following Beijing’s retaliatory duties announced last week, further escalating the global trade war that has rattled markets.

President Donald Trump’s four-day trip to Florida over the weekend, which followed the announcement of sweeping global tariffs that have rattled markets, marked at least his 23rd day golfing since the start of his second term.

So far this year, he made the most trips in February, at nine visits, followed by eight in March, according to CNN’s tracker. His first visit to Trump International Golf Club in Miami was on January 26, the first weekend after the Inauguration.

Trump traveled to Florida on Thursday to deliver remarks at a dinner for LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed tour, at his Doral property. He then spent several hours golfing in West Palm Beach on Friday and said he won the second-round matchup of the senior club championship in Jupiter on Saturday. The win on Saturday advanced the president to the championship round on Sunday, where he concluded his trip to all three of his Florida golf courses.

Throughout his second term, Trump has visited his Florida golf clubs in Doral, Miami, West Palm Beach and Jupiter, Florida, as well as his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Trump’s golf courses serve as a common meeting place for him and political and nonpolitical figures. In the last four months, Trump has met at his golf clubs in Florida with GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Fox host Trey Gowdy, golfer Tiger Woods, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and wife Casey DeSantis, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and retired golfer Gary Player.

President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his desire for US control of Gaza, calling the Palestinian enclave “an incredible piece of important real estate.”

Trump once again suggested the displacement of Gaza’s population and claimed that “plenty of countries” would take the 2.1 million expelled Palestinians. Regional allies have rejected such forced displacement, which could amount to a war crime.

According to the United Nations, Israel’s war on Hamas has displaced 90% of Gaza residents, many of whom have been forced to move repeatedly.

“If you take the people, the Palestinians, and move them around to different countries — and you have plenty of countries that will do that — and you really have a freedom zone. You call it the freedom zone, a free zone, a zone where people aren’t going to be killed every day,” Trump said Monday.

“That’s a hell of a place,” Trump continued. “You know what I call it — a great location that nobody wants to live in.”

The US president also questioned “why Israel ever gave (Gaza) up.”

“They took oceanfront property and they gave it to people for peace. How did that work out?” said Trump, who has proposed transforming the enclave into a “Riviera” that would be owned by the United States.

Israel captured Gaza in the Six-Day War of 1967 and occupied it for nearly 40 years.

House GOP leaders are powering ahead with plans to adopt the Senate GOP’s budget blueprint on Wednesday which will mark a key step toward advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda, according to two GOP sources.

But for now, Speaker Mike Johnson does not have the votes for that budget measure, in yet another political gamble for the Republican leader.

The House must adopt the Senate-passed budget plan to unlock the filibuster-proof process known as budget reconciliation, which Republicans will use to extend Trump’s tax cuts and deliver new national security funding — as well as potentially cut federal spending.

Johnson and his team plan to fiercely whip the budget measure over the next two days. Trump is also expected to get involved. He is expected to appear at the GOP campaign arm’s “President’s Dinner” fundraiser tomorrow night, which many lawmakers plan to attend, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Further, House GOP leaders are privately telling some members that they will keep them in session through the weekend if they do not pass the Senate’s budget blueprint, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

The House Rules Committee — which is the first stop for any legislation before it heads to the House floor — opted not to take up the budget plan today. Instead, it will take it up later this week, likely tomorrow, according to a Republican source familiar with the matter.

This post has been updated with more details about timing.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned of a possible recession if President Donald Trump and his administration continue with increased tariffs on most imported goods and called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to allow a vote on a bipartisan bill that would require congressional approval for new tariffs.

Trump has already sworn that he would veto the bill — introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell and Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley — if it passed the Senate and House. Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated that he does not currently plan to bring it to the floor.

“The Republican Leader should make passing tariff legislation the top priority of the Senate. This week, at his press conference a few minutes ago, Donald Trump just said he is not looking at a pause,” Schumer said.

When asked if he would put the bill on the floor for a vote, Thune said he didn’t “think that it has a future” and indicated that he has not spoken about it to his rank-and-file members.

This post has been updated with comments from Thune.

US stocks mostly fell after an extremely volatile day today — tumbling, surging and then bouncing around in every direction, as traders searched for any sign that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be negotiated or halted.

After a roller coaster day, the Dow closed lower by 349 points, or 0.91%. The broader S&P 500 fell 0.23%. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% higher after fluctuating between gains and losses.

Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, closed at the highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic as investors fretted over the market’s next move. The VIX surpassed an intraday level of 50 points midday Monday, a rare level associated with extreme volatility.

The wild swings in markets underscore just how badly investors want Trump to put a pause on his trade war. US stocks surged off their lows on rumors of a pause on tariffs. However, that rebound proved fleeting as traders realized nothing official had been announced.

And the volatility in markets went beyond just stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which had slid below 4% at the end of last week, rose to 4.155% as investors sold off bonds. Yields and bond prices trade in opposite directions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is working with the US on another deal to secure the release of additional hostages.

Netanyahu also said he speaks to the families of the hostages “every day.” The Israeli leader had repeatedly faced criticism for failing to regularly engage with the families of the hostages and particularly the hostages who have been released during previous ceasefire agreements. Many of the former hostages and their families have instead turned to President Donald Trump, asking him to make a ceasefire deal happen. Last month, eight former hostages visited Trump in the Oval Office, asking him to bring the remaining hostages back to Israel.

Netanyahu said Israel is committed to “enabling the people of Gaza to freely make a choice to go wherever they want.” He pointed to a “bold vision” Trump put forward which he said was discussed on Monday that involved Palestinians choosing to go to countries willing to accept them.

President Donald Trump said he is “not happy” about Russia’s ongoing strikes in Ukraine as the US tries to broker an end in fighting between the two countries.

“I’m not happy about what’s going on with the bombing because they’re bombing like crazy right now. They’re bombing — I don’t know what’s happening there. That’s not a good situation,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump’s remarks came after a question about why his new tariff plan did not include any levies on Russia. The president said this is “because we’re not doing business, essentially, with Russia, because they’re at war.”

Trump said US officials are meeting with Russia and Ukraine “and we’re getting sort of close,” though he didn’t say if that meant close to a ceasefire.

Some context: The comments come after a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih killed at least 19 people, including nine children, on Friday. It was one of the deadliest strikes this year in the concflict.

Trump also said he was recently “pissed off” on a recent call with the Russian leader, who rejected Trump’s proposal for a full and immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump suggested Monday that the United States will “maybe not” reduce Israel’s tariffs, as he sat next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office.

Trump announced a 17% tariff on Israel last week as part of his massive shake-up in global trade.

The president’s comments came after Netanyahu said earlier in the Oval Office that his country will eliminate the trade deficit and trade barriers with the US “very quickly.”

Residents in the central Mexican city of Toluca expressed fear and uncertainty over automaker Stellantis’ decision to pause production at its local assembly plant due to the impact of US tariffs on imported cars.

With more than 2,400 hourly workers, the plant is considered one of the largest sources of employment for residents of Toluca, but the company says the plant, which has been in operation for more than 50 years, will be closed for the rest of April starting Monday.

Asked whether she has ever considered switching careers to a different industry, Valentin said she hopes it doesn’t come to that, but it would be her last option. Alejandro Sanchez’s uncle worked at the plant for at least seven years before being laid off “out of nowhere” when tariffs were announced. Sanchez called the situation “a bit ugly.”

The Stellantis’ production pause has alarmed people working across the automotive development industry, Norman Hernandez, a worker at another plant in the city, told CNN.

“And the layoffs that have occurred – massive layoffs – are a bit worrying and alarming,” he added.

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he is “not looking” at implementing a pause in enforcing the tariffs that he announced last week.

“Well, we’re not looking at that. We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us. And they’re going to be fair deals. And certain cases, they’re going to be paying substantial tariffs. They’ll be fair deals. As you know, I spoke this morning with the prime minister of Japan, and we had a very good conversation,” the president said.

Asked about the mixed messaging from his administration on tariff negotiation, the president claimed that “they can both be true.”

“It could be they can both be true. There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” the president said.

The president’s remarks came as he sat alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. US stocks have been extremely volatile today as traders searched for any sign Trump’s tariffs could be negotiated or halted. US stocks tumbled for the third straight day Monday, and the S&P 500 entered bear market territory.

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily paused a court-imposed midnight deadline to a return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, agreeing to a request from President Donald Trump to give both sides more time to make their arguments.

Chief Justice John Roberts granted the “administrative stay” on his own, a move that will extend the deadline until the court hands down a more fulsome decision – probably within a few days. Roberts handles emergency cases rising from the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia.

The decision to temporarily pause the case, which is relatively common when the court is facing a quick deadline, means that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national deported on March 15, will remain at a notorious prison in El Salvador for now.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post.

President Donald Trump said Monday that direct talks are underway between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said a “very big meeting” would take place Saturday.

“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said.

Iran had previously rejected Trump’s offer of direct negotiations over its nuclear program, offering instead to engage in indirect talks. Trump’s offer, which he sent Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in March, proposed negotiations on a new nuclear deal, with a two-month ultimatum to reach an agreement, a source familiar with the letter’s contents previously told CNN.

Trump on Monday voiced optimism that talks would be successful in convincing Iran to abandon its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.

“Hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful. … We hope that’s going to happen,” he said.

Later, Trump added that if the talks aren’t successful, then, “I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran.”

CNN’s Maureen Chowdhury contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will eliminate the trade deficit and trade barriers with the US “very quickly.”

Speaking alongside US President Donald Trump at the White House Monday, Netanyahu said Israel would get rid of trade barriers “put up unnecessarily.”

“We’re going to eliminate the tariffs and rapidly,” Netanyahu said.

Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on most countries of the world last week, hitting Israel with a level of 17% despite Israel having removed tariffs on US products a day prior. Israel adds tariffs to very few products from the US, and the vast majority face no tariffs at all. Trump did not mention dropping tariffs on Israel to zero in his on-camera remarks alongside Netanyahu on Monday.

The prime minister said he hopes Israel can be a model for other countries to do the same.

This post has been updated with additional information.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are meeting in the Oval Office, where the leaders are expected to discuss a wide-range of issues, including Israel’s war in Gaza and Trump’s tariffs.

The White House canceled a news conference that was set to happen this afternoon.

Earlier today, Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said the meeting between the leaders would be the first in-person meeting with a foreign country trying to negotiate with the president on the tariffs he announced last week.

The US imposed a 17% tariff on Israel, according to Trump’s announcement last week.

CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed reporting to this post.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has canceled all remaining contracts for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, a USAID official told CNN.

The terminations were among of dozens sent by USAID this weekend as the Trump administration moves to abolish the agency by July. USAID also canceled its remaining humanitarian aid work contracts for Yemen, the official said.

The canceled contracts were used for food assistance, safe drinking water, hygiene items, medical services — including treatment of women and children — and shelter support, according to the USAID official.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had signed off extensions for some of the foreign aid awards last week, only for them to be cancelled this weekend, the official said. CNN reported this weekend that the administration canceled other contracts for work that had previously been cleared to continue, including in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon.

Terminations for the canceled programs said they were deemed to be “inconsistent with the administration’s priorities.”

CNN has reached out to the State Department about the cancelations of the Afghanistan funding. A State Department spokesperson told CNN this weekend that “just because contracts are terminated, doesn’t mean that they can’t be reinstated as needed.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will lead United States negotiation with Japan on trade, Bessent announced on social media on Monday.

Trump last week announced 24% tariffs on Japan, which are set to take effect Wednesday.

Ishiba urged Trump in a call earlier Monday to reconsider the tariffs, according to a press statement from the Japanese prime minister’s office. Noting that Japan is the largest foreign investor in the US, Ishiba “expressed strong concerns” that the tariffs could weaken the capacity of Japanese companies to continue investing, according to the readout.

House Speaker Mike Johnson argued today that Congress must give President Donald Trump the “space” to execute on his trade policy, as markets react to the sweeping global tariffs announced last week.

Asked by CNN why Congress shouldn’t have a check on Trump’s tariff power, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding, Johnson said, “Congress will weigh in on it but with the president, with the administration in tandem.”

Sens. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, introduced a bill in the Senate last week requiring congressional approval for new tariffs, which has co-sponsors from both parties. GOP Rep. Don Bacon said he’ll introduce a companion bill Monday in the House, where he has acknowledged it will face a steeper challenge.

Global markets have been rocked following President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on trading partners and China’s forceful response to unexpectedly high duties.

Some countries are looking to negotiate with the US to reduce the imposed tariffs.

Here’s how some countries are responding as Trump digs in on his tariff plan:

This post has been updated with reactions from more foreign leaders.

The decades-long softwood lumber dispute between the US and Canada is escalating even before planned tariffs take effect. The US plans to more than double existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the critical building material.

The US Department of Commerce, as part of an annual review process, plans to hike the duties from 14.4% to 34.45%, according to published and unpublished filings in the Federal Register.

The duties, which are separate from tariffs that have been proposed on softwood lumber, stem from a decades-long strife between the North American neighbors. Put simply, the US claims that the Canadian lumber industry is government-subsidized.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said the duties are “unjustified” in a statement released Saturday, adding that the duties will end up “driving up housing costs for Americans who voted for a president who promised to lower costs.”

What this could mean: About 30% of the softwood lumber consumed in the US is imported, with Canada accounting for north of 80% of those imports. Builders estimate that tariffs on lumber and other critical homebuilding materials could raise the average cost of a home by $9,200, according to the March National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

However, members of the US lumber industry say higher duties as well as new tariffs would help level the playing the field. They also say the existing US industry has a significant amount of existing capacity that’s not currently being utilized.

“These unfair trade practices are designed by Canada to maintain an artificially inflated US market share for Canadian products and force US companies to curtail production, thereby killing US jobs,” Andrew Miller, chair of the US Lumber Coalition, said in a statement.

The White House has canceled a news conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET Monday afternoon between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Officials cited the Oval Office meeting with Netanyahu, where Trump could take questions, and today’s previous East Room event honoring the Los Angeles Dodgers as rationale for canceling the event.

This post has been updated with more information from officials.

A federal appeals court reinstated the access that affiliates of the Department of Government Efficiency can have to some agencies’ sensitive data.

The ruling pauses a federal judge’s order that had limited DOGE access to the personal information of some Americans held by the Department of Education, Office of Personnel Management and Treasury Department.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to grant the Trump administration’s emergency request for intervention. The GOP-appointed judges in the majority said that the lower court had misapplied the relevant precedents.

The administration will continue to be subject to an order in another case that put restrictions on access that Treasury gives DOGE to the department’s closely guarded data systems.

More on the ruling: The dissenting judge on the 4th Circuit panel, Judge Robert King, appointed by President Bill Clinton, wrote that, after the panel voted to restore the data access, he took the “extraordinary” step of having the full 4th Circuit Court take a look at the case. It voted 8-7 not to get involved at this phase, leaving the panel ruling to stand.

The case was brought by several federal unions. The trial judge had blocked OPM, Education and Treasury from sharing with DOGE the personal data of the unions’ two million members.

The Trump administration is in the early stages of planning for a parade to be held in Washington, DC, the city’s Mayor Muriel Bowser said today.

Her comments came a day after Washington City Paper reported the Trump administration hopes for the city to host a “military parade” on June 14, which is both the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the US Army and Trump’s 79th birthday. Preliminary plans call for the parade to stretch from the Pentagon in Arlington to the White House, the outlet reported.

Asked about that reporting during a press availability, Bowser said: “I don’t know if it’s been characterized as a military parade, but maybe it has.”

“I haven’t been directly involved in it yet. I understand that — I think it was Homeland Security, maybe the White House — reached out to our special events task force, which is what most people wanting to do a parade do in the district,” she said, adding that planning is “at its early stages.”

Trump hoped to host a military-style parade during his first term but called it off after the city said it would cost tens of millions of dollars, CNN previously reported.

A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately respond to a question asking for more details about the administration’s coordination with the city to plan a parade. CNN has reached out to the White House, DHS, Army and Department of Defense for comment.

Arlington County Chair Takis Karantonis said in a statement that the county was contacted by the Secret Service on Friday “regarding the possibility of a military parade to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army, but no further details were offered.”

The county, which is home to the Pentagon and many active and retired military personnel, has not received a formal request from the federal government for any assistance for the parade, he added.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting to this post.

President Donald Trump would veto a bipartisan bill that would limit his authority to levy new tariffs, the White House said today.

“If passed, this bill would dangerously hamper the President’s authority and duty to determine our foreign policy and protect our national security,” the president’s budget office wrote in an official veto threat notice.

The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, would require presidents to justify new tariffs to Congress. Lawmakers would have to approve them within 60 days or they would expire.

The White House said the bill would “seriously constrain” Trump’s authorities that Congress has “long recognized.”

Trump has yet to veto a bill in his second term. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was last at the White House in February, trade matters between the US and Israel were far from mind.

Not so Monday, as the Israeli leader returns for a last-minute visit looking for ways to alleviate the 17% tariff on Israel Trump announced last week as part of his massive shakeup in global trade. Netanyahu’s relative success will be closely watched by fellow world leaders looking for ways to ease their own tariff burdens.

The question is what, exactly, Netanyahu can offer Trump in return for an easing-off of the new duties. He already tried to preempt the new tariffs by lifting custom duties on US imports, to little effect.

That leaves other, non-economic areas as potential ground for negotiation. Since Netanyahu’s last visit — remembered mainly for Trump’s shock plan to ‘take over’ Gaza, remove its residents and redevelop it into a seafront “Riviera” with glass condominiums — Israel has fully resumed its war in Gaza, and the ceasefire with Hamas that Trump took credit for brokering has fallen apart.

The White House has fully backed Israel’s military campaign, putting the onus on Hamas to return hostages and come back to the negotiating table.

At the same time, one of Trump’s biggest foreign policy objectives may ride on bringing the Gaza conflict to an end. As he prepares to head to Saudi Arabia next month, he hopes to advance a normalization agreement between Riyadh and Israel — creating a regional counterweight to Iran.

That plan won’t go anywhere if the Gaza war continues. But the Iran threat is only ramping up, as US officials warn Tehran is advancing its nuclear program — a topic likely to arise in Monday’s talks.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump called Gaza a “big problem” he hopes to resolve. “That’s another thing we’d like to get solved,” he said.

President Donald Trump said Monday he’s ready to slap new 50% tariffs on China following Beijing’s retaliatory duties announced last week, further escalating the global trade war that has rattled markets.

He said the additional tariffs would take effect midweek if China doesn’t remove its 34% retaliatory tariff by Tuesday.

He also said meetings China had requested would be canceled, though he said other countries would begin negotiating on trade immediately.

“Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” he went on.

“Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Some context: Since returning to power in January, Trump had already levied two tranches of 10% additional duties on all Chinese imports, which the White House said was necessary to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl from the country to the US. Last week, Trump announced an additional 34% on all Chinese goods, which is set to take effect Wednesday. If his latest threat of an additional 50% went into effect, Chinese goods arriving in the US would effectively be subject to tariffs of 104%.

This post has been updated with additional details.

A federal appeals court declined on Monday to put on hold a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to bring back a man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

The decision from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals comes just hours before the administration faces an 11:59 p.m. deadline to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, to the US.

The ruling came minutes after the administration asked the Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to lift the preliminary injunction issued late last week by US District Judge Paula Xinis.

Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer, said Monday’s decision to uphold a lower court ruling gives her “hope” and “encouragement to keep fighting.”

The case is currently in front of the Supreme Court.

This report has been updated with comments from Abrego Garcia’s wife.

It’s not every day that financial markets go from deep in the red to well into positive territory and then back down to the red again — all in the span of minutes.

But that’s exactly what happened on Monday.

With banners flashing on CNBC and posts piling up on social media that the Trump administration was considering a 90-day pause on all tariffs with the exception of China, investors breathed a huge sigh of relief. But then it turned out that they got a little too excited.

A White House official told CNN any such reports are “fake news.”

Much of the reporting traced back to an interview President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, had on Fox News this morning. Hassett was asked if Trump can call a “90-day timeout” on tariffs.

Hassett responded: “I think the President will decide what the President is going to decide.” Several news networks took that to mean Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs. However, there was no official reporting on that.

White House director of communications Steven Cheung also denied reports of a 90-day pause being under consideration. He reposted a NewsMax post on X post of Hassett with his own comments: “Not true. Nobody can point to a transcript … because it was never said.”

President Donald Trump’s administration urged the Supreme Court today to block a lower court order requiring officials to bring a man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador back to Maryland.

The emergency appeal over Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, landed at the high court on a short fuse: A lower court judge has ordered the Trump administration to return him to the US by 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Trump attorneys have conceded in court filings that the administration mistakenly deported the father of three “because of an administrative error,” but said it could not bring him back because he is in Salvadoran custody. His case has added to the already considerable legal scrutiny over White House efforts to deport immigrants without a hearing or review.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post.

The wild swings in financial markets on Monday morning underscore how badly investors want President Donald Trump to pause the trade war.

US stocks surged off their lows and even briefly turned positive on rumors of a 90-day pause. However, that rebound proved fleeting as traders realized nothing official had been announced.

Oversold markets desperate for good news are subject to wild swings that can quickly reverse, Hogan added.

The European Union is “ready to negotiate” with the United States and has offered to scrap tariffs on industrial goods, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Monday.

“These tariffs come first and foremost at immense costs for US consumers and businesses but, at the same time, they have a massive impact on the global economy,” the head of the EU’s executive arm said at a news conference in Brussels.

Following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of hefty tariffs on dozens of countries last week, EU exports to the US face a 20% “reciprocal” tariff, while its steel and auto industry face a 25% tariff. Von der Leyen said the tariffs, which have caused a global market rout, represent a “major turning point” for the US.

Asked when the EU tabled the zero-tariff offer, von der Leyen said the offer was made “long before” Trump’s latest tariff announcement and “repeatedly, for example, in the automotive sector.” She stressed that the EU has long gone “zero for zero with other countries that also have a strong automotive sector.”

At the same time, the EU is willing to play hardball: Although the EU would prefer to strike a “negotiated settlement,” the bloc is also “preparing a potential list (of US imports) for retaliation,” she said.

Meanwhile, the head of the EU’s executive arm said the bloc would explore new opportunities, citing deals it has already made with Mexico and Switzerland, as well as new trade agreements it is exploring with India, Indonesia and other countries in the Indo-Pacific.

“We will focus like a laser beam on the 83% of global trade that is beyond the United States – vast opportunities – and this is why we’re deepening our relations with our trading partners,” she said at a news conference in Brussels.

This post has been updated with additional information.

US stocks were extremely volatile Monday as traders searched for any sign that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be negotiated or halted.

Markets around the world had tumbled over concerns about how Trump’s sweeping tariffs might upend the global economy and stymie US economic growth. US stocks opened the day in bear market territory but surged an hour later on rumors that the Trump administration may pause tariffs – perhaps for several months.

That rumor turned out to be just that, it seems. And the Dow, which had risen nearly 900 points, was back down once again.

The Dow was lower 500 points, or 1.3%. The broader S&P 500 edged lower. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% lower.

At the open, the S&P 500 tumbled into bear market territory – a decline of 20% from a recent peak – before pulling back. The decline in US stocks came after a historic rout in Asia and massive losses in Europe.

The S&P 500 hit a record high less than seven weeks ago, on February 19. If the index closes in bear market territory, that would be the second-fastest peak-to-bear market shift in history (the fastest occurred during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic).

Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said Monday’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump will be the first in-person meeting with a foreign country to negotiate on the tariffs announced last week.

“I’m sure they will talk about trade policy and Middle East policy as well,” Hassett told Fox News on Monday from the White House.

Hassett emphasized that the US is prepared for a “good deal.”

The US imposed a 17% tariff on Israel, according to Trump’s announcement last week.

President Donald Trump said Monday that “countries from all over the World” are talking to the United States after he announced reciprocal tariffs last week and that “tough but fair parameters are being set,” specifically mentioning the Japanese prime minister sending negotiators.

Trump also highlighted China as a particular focus, suggesting that trade relations with China need significant changes.

“It all has to change, but especially with CHINA!!!”

Asian markets dip: Global markets plunged on Monday, deepening a global stocks rout triggered by Trump’s trade war and China’s forceful response to unexpectedly high tariffs. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 7.9% lower, while the broader Topix finished down 7.7%. Tech giant Sony plummeted more than 10%.

CNN’s Juliana Liu and John Liu contributed to this report.

Last week Vietnam offered to lower its tariffs on American exports to 0% in exchange for the same treatment, according to a report published by the Vietnamese government on Friday. That came after President Donald Trump spoke with Vietnam’s General Secretary Tô Lâm on Friday in a call Trump labeled “productive.”

But White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that Vietnam’s offer is not being taken seriously.

More context: Vietnam is among the nations set to see the highest “reciprocal” tariff rates of 46% come April 9, according to the new tariff regime the Trump administration unveiled last week. Vietnam was the United States’ sixth-largest source of imports last year, according to US Commerce Department data.

The tariffs Trump is set to impose could raise the price for a slew of goods which the US relies heavily on from Vietnam, including electronics, apparel and footwear

US stocks opened lower Monday as markets around the world tumbled over concerns about how President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs might upend the global economy and stymie US economic growth.

Markets opened in bear market territory – a decline of 20% from a recent peak – after a historic rout in Asia and massive losses in Europe.

The Dow fell 1,200 points, or 3.2%. The broader S&P 500 was 3.4% lower and opened in bear territory. The Nasdaq Composite slid 3.96%. The S&P 500 hit a record high less than seven weeks ago, on February 19. If the index closes in bear market territory, that would be the second-fastest peak-to-bear market shift in history (the fastest occurred during the 2020 pandemic).

Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, has surged to levels not seen since the Covid-19 pandemic as investors fret over the market’s next move. CNN’s Fear and Greed Index has slumped to its lowest levels this year.

President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners could derail the global move toward green energy, aimed at preventing the worst impacts of climate change.

The tariffs will likely make key green technologies more expensive and could also force governments to divert resources from addressing the climate crisis into propping up their economies.

China is the world’s largest producer of many of the materials that are crucial for clean energy technologies. Among others, it exports vast amounts of lithium and lithium batteries as well as the materials used to build wind turbines and solar panels.

The E3G independent climate change think tank said in a research paper that the tariffs will increase the cost of manufacturing of low-carbon technologies and could eventually result in higher prices for consumers — at a time when prices were going down, encouraging faster transition.

Climate policies are already being changed because of the tariffs.

More context: The UK government on Monday scrapped some electric vehicle sales targets, specifically quoting the “new era of global insecurity” as one of the reasons. While the government kept the 2030 deadline to stop sales of new petrol and diesel cars, it gave companies more flexibility up until then, and it also slashed the fines for those who don’t meet the targets.

After the Canadian government scrapped the consumer carbon tax last month, some Canadian provinces followed suit and stopped other carbon levies, quoting the US tariffs among the reasons.

To avoid the worst of the climate crisis, the world needs to quickly transition to clean energy. With governments and businesses facing economic pressures, resources could be diverted away from green projects. That will likely backfire as failing to invest in emission cutting now will make more costly to deal with the consequences in the future.

President Donald Trump urged patience and warned against becoming “panican” in a post Monday ahead of markets opening in the United States.

Trump was writing as markets traded sharply lower in Asia and Europe, and a US futures tumbled. Earlier this morning, Trump defended the US economy and claims tariffs will boost revenue

White House national economic council director Kevin Hassett defended President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Monday, responding to billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman who criticized and said the “economic nuclear war” is triggered by tariffs.

“I would urge everyone, especially Bill, to ease the ease off the rhetoric a little bit,” Hassett told Fox News on Monday from the White House.

Ackman, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid for president, said Sunday that America was heading toward a self-inflicted “economic nuclear winter” because of Trump’s tariff policy rollout.

Hassett also responded to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who has issued a bunt warning about Trump’s tariff policy. Dimon said America’s “extraordinary standing” in the world was built on the strength of its economy, military and morals. But tariffs and Trump’s “America First” foreign policy could undermine that standing.

“Trump came into office with the biggest debt to GDP that we’ve seen in the US ever since World War 2,” Hassett said. “And what we’re doing right now is we’re fixing that,” he added in response to Dimon.

Trump’s announcement last week, targeting nearly all the US trading partners last week, including a 10% tariff on all imports and higher tariffs on certain countries, triggered a sharp and ongoing decline in global markets, with several nations imposing retaliatory tariffs on goods.

The global market rout sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs deepened in Asia and Europe on Monday, with the US bracing for a further slump when its markets open shortly.

Although the president has doubled down on his trade policy, members of his administration failed to offer a coherent message about his strategy over the weekend. Some of Trump’s billionaire backers are now calling for a return to freer trade.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Asian markets plummet: With trading now over for the day, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index closed 13.2% down – its worst day since 1997. The city’s financial markets had been closed Friday for an annual festival.

• Europe also slumps: Stocks indexes in Europe are down around 5% halfway through the day’s trading. Meanwhile, European Union trade ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss a response to Trump’s tariffs.

• US markets set to open: If the US stock market closes in bear territory – a drop of 20% from a recent peak – it would be the earliest in a new administration that a bull market has turned into a bear market in the history of the S&P 500, which dates back to 1957.

• Dimon sounds alarm: JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon has warned that Trump’s tariffs could raise prices, tip the global economy into recession and weaken America’s standing in the world by tearing up its alliances.

• Trump doubles down: After his trade policy wiped trillions of dollars off global markets last week, Trump told reporters late Sunday that he doesn’t want “anything to go down,” but that “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” On Monday morning, Trump defended his policy in a Truth Social post, saying tariffs would bring in billions of dollars in revenue.

• Musk breaks rank: Elon Musk has said he would be in favor of a “zero-tariff situation” between the US and EU, after the man he helped elect as president imposed a 20% tariff on the bloc. Bill Ackman, another of Trump’s billionaire backers, has also criticized the president’s trade policy.

• MAGA’s mixed signals: Top Trump administration officials offered mixed messaging over whether countries can negotiate their way out of tariffs, or if the levies are here to stay. Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary under Barack Obama, said the administration “doesn’t have a coherent message on why it’s implementing the largest tax increase” seen in the US in 50 years.

President Donald Trump’s trade plan could cause a repeat of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs from 1930 that worsened the Great Depression, former Federal Reserve official James Bullard warned on Monday.

Economists widely blame the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act with making the Great Depression worse than it had to be. The act surged tariffs on US imports to protect workers. A half-century later, the infamous legislation was featured in an iconic scene in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Bullard, who now serves as dean of Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business, told CNBC that Trump’s tariffs are setting up a situation where “you could get a dramatic downturn in the economy.”

Bullard added, however, that this does not have to be a repeat and noted that it’s not clear the tariffs will even stay in place.

President Donald Trump took to social media Monday to argue that the US is in a strong economic position, despite the fact that the US and global markets have tanked.

The president claimed that the country will earn billions of dollars from the tariffs he placed on other countries, even as the stock market faces its worst start to a presidential term in modern history.

Trump on Sunday aboard Air Force One said he does not want “anything to go down,” but stressed “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” with the administration sending mixed signals on whether his trade policies are open for negotiation.

The sweeping tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump last week are set to add to the pain inflicted on US farmers by the tariffs imposed during his first term, a union boss has warned.

He added that farmers “haven’t gotten (those) markets back yet and now he’s picking on Canada and Mexico and China.” Farmers are being “held down to almost surf levels, just barely getting by,” he said.

“We raise thousands and thousands of acres of corn and soybeans and wheat and other products and we export just about half of what we raise in the United States,” he said.

Farmers often receive government funding to protect them when prices fall due to weather or market fluctuations – but in 2018 they needed bailing out to protect them from the Trump administration’s trade policies. During Trump’s first term, the government spent billions of dollars bailing out farmers feeling the pinch from the president’s trade war.

Over the weekend, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was unable to clearly state whether Trump’s new tariffs are here to stay, or whether there was room for deals.

Rollins indicated there could be support for farmers affected by the most recent tariffs, pointing to the previous relief during Trump’s first term.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has issued a blunt warning about President Donald Trump’s tariff policy: It threatens to raise prices, drive the global economy into a downturn and weaken America’s standing in the world.

Dimon said America’s “extraordinary standing” in the world was built on the strength of its economy, military and morals. But tariffs and Trump’s “America First” foreign policy could undermine that standing.

Despite a recent plunge in markets, stocks could tumble much farther still, Dimon argued. The US stock market is set to open in bear market territory after hitting a record high less than seven weeks ago, on February 19 – the second-fastest peak-to-bear market shift in history (the fastest occurred during the 2020 pandemic).

US President Donald Trump and his tariffs have taken a bull stock market and are on the precipice of turning it into a bear faster than any president has overseen in modern history.

If the stock market closes in bear territory – a drop of 20% from a recent peak – it would be the earliest in a new administration a bull market has turned into a bear in the history of the S&P 500, which dates back to 1957.

These same tariffs may also take a booming economy and turn it into a recession.

Read more about the state of the stock market today here.

We know there’s a lot of chatter about the impact of the tariffs, and one word being thrown around is recession.

So, what is a recession? And why are economists concerned the world may be impacted by it?

The traditional (and official) definition of a US recession is “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months.”

That’s according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private nonprofit organization has a very important role, when it comes to these downturns: Its Business Cycle Dating Committee is the official designator of peaks, troughs, expansions, contractions — and yes, recessions — in the business cycle.

The committee, in making its recession determination, uses three criteria: depth, diffusion and duration.

This is where it gets a little squishy.

While each of those need to be met individually to some degree, extreme conditions in one of those areas can offset weaker conditions in the others.

Also, it’s often the case that the US already is in a recession by the time the Business Cycle Dating Committee officially deems it so.

Prognosticators have turned to other gauges as potential recessionary indicators; however, they don’t always prove true.

The biggest rule of thumb or nonofficial recession indicator is the technical notion of back-to-back quarterly contractions in real gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity.

As the European Union seeks to respond to the punishing 20% tariff the White House has placed on its exports, the bloc could negotiate with the United States on issues of energy security and military trade, a Latvian official said Monday.

Artjom Uršulskis, parliamentary secretary of Latvia’s foreign ministry, hinted at where the EU is looking to negotiate with the US, in comments to reporters ahead of a meeting of EU trade ministers.

One area the EU could target is US services, rather than just goods – which would punish US tech giants. But Uršulskis said this would be the wrong focus.

Goldman Sachs is the latest Wall Street bank to warn that US President Donald Trump’s trade war could crash the US economy into a damaging recession.

As financial markets plunged, Goldman Sachs economists delivered a report to clients titled “Countdown to Recession” that slashed their 2025 GDP forecast to 0.5% and raised their 12-month recession probability from 35% to 45%.

The investment bank cited the “sharp tightening in financial conditions, foreign consumer boycotts, and a continued spike in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than we had previously assumed.”

The new recession warning from Goldman Sachs is lower than the 60% recession forecast from JPMorgan Chase last week. But that’s because Goldman’s forecast hinges on an assumption that Trump won’t allow all his threatened tariffs to kick in.

In other words, if Trump doesn’t blink, Goldman Sachs believes a recession is likely on the cards.

The bank now expects the Fed to cut rates starting in June (versus July previously) followed by twice more later in the year. If a recession becomes more likely, Goldman said the Fed would likely slash interest rates by two full percentage points over the next year.

After Elon Musk said he was in favor of “zero tariffs” between the United States and European Union – in opposition to policies of the US president he helped elect – Germany’s economy minister said Musk was showing signs of “weakness” and “fear.”

“Yes, I read what Elon Musk said,” Robert Habeck said Monday, referring to Musk’s comments this weekend that he hopes for a “zero-tariff situation” between the US and EU.

“I think it’s a sign of weakness and maybe of fear, because the acting politics are completely different,” Habeck said as he arrived at a meeting of EU trade ministers.

“This is ridiculous, and the only interpretation I have is that he now sees that his own companies, but even the economies are going to crumble because of the mess they have made, so he’s afraid,” he added, referring to Tesla’s tanking stock price.

Habeck called for a return to the policies of globalization that had “served all economies” around the world, and especially the US.

Markets are notoriously unpredictable – it’s not easy to pinpoint the mood on the Street.

That’s why a little over a decade ago, journalists at what was then called CNNMoney created the Fear & Greed Index — a kind of Wall Street vibe check that’s been garnering extra attention in recent days as global markets have tumbled in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.

The index is an easy-to-read barometer of investors’ risk appetite on a 100-point scale, from extreme fear (0) to extreme greed (100).

It was designed to give a sense of how much markets are being driven by fear (selling stocks, buying safer assets like Treasury bonds) or greed (buying stocks, loading up on risk).

On Friday afternoon, in the middle of a massive global selloff, the index was at a 4, firmly in “extreme fear.”

The story of the index begins in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent European debt crisis.

“So, March 2009, the market bottoms, and there’s some sense of recovery, but we were all trying to figure out how to measure where we were, beyond just the daily ups and downs” Lex Haris, former executive editor of CNNMoney, said in an interview. “And I was just very drawn to this concept of these two emotions driving the market.”

When the index launched in the spring of 2012, CNNMoney’s executive editor at the time, Chris Peacock, said it “captures in an eye-blink the underlying forces driving investors’ money moves.”

US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a colossal set of tariffs on America’s trading partners is tantamount to “economic nuclear war,” according to billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid for president.

In a post on X Sunday, Ackman said “business investment will grind to a halt, consumers will close their wallets” if many of the new levies come into force on April 9. “We will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate,” he added in the post viewed 8.9 million times.

Trump’s baseline 10% tariff went into effect Saturday, while many countries are bracing for higher levies still, due to kick in Wednesday.

The CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management called for a 90-day “time out” in which Trump could negotiate with trading partners and “resolve unfair asymmetric tariffs deals” and warned that “the president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe.”

“This is not what we voted for,” he wrote.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index closed 13.2% lower on Monday, making it the worst single one-day drop since 1997, according to the index’s website listing its biggest daily losses.

The city’s financial markets were closed on Friday for the annual Tomb Sweeping Festival.

The Hang Seng index includes stocks from some of Hong Kong’s and mainland China’s largest listed companies, such as Alibaba, HSBC, Tencent, Meituan and Xiaomi.

Chinese tech champions Alibaba and Tencent closed nearly 18% and more than 12.5% lower, respectively. Banking corporation HSBC plunged 14.8%, Chinese delivery giant Meituan plummeted 15% and consumer electronics firm Xiaomi finished down 20.6%.

Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, has called for swift action in response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs that has caused global markets to plummet.

As a member of the European Union, Germany has been hit by a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on all exports to the US, while its steel and auto industry faces a separate 25% tariff.

Since February’s election, Germany’s parliament voted to cancel its historic “debt brake” – a constitutional mechanism designed to limit government borrowing. The move will enable the usually fiscally conservative country to spend hundreds of billions of euros on its infrastructure and defense.

Although analysts had hailed the attempt to revive Europe’s largest economy, Trump’s tariffs are set to inflict further economic pain on Germany, halting its hoped-for recovery.

Oil pricesplunged Monday, with investors worried about the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s decision to impose massive tariffs on America’s trading partners.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, plunged 3.5% to trade at $63.30 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, also fell 3.5% to $59.84 by 4.16 a.m. ET. Both are trading at their lowest levels since early 2021 when the world was still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

The falls in prices come after OPEC+, the coalition of the world’s top oil producers, surprised investors last week by deciding on a much bigger boost in oil supply than planned earlier: Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of the group agreed on larger production increases starting in May than previously announced.

As Trump’s tariffs rock global markets, countries are scrambling to negotiate concessions – but China is taking a different approach.

Their message is clear: China is well prepared to weather a trade war, and come out stronger on the other side.

“US tariffs will have an impact (on China), but ‘the sky won’t fall,’” a commentary in the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily said Sunday.

“Since the US initiated the (first) trade war in 2017 – no matter how the US fights or presses – we have continued to develop and progress, demonstrating resilience – ‘the more pressure we get, the stronger we become,’” read the commentary, which was also on the front page of the paper’s Monday edition.

Just 48 hours after Trump’s shocking announcement, the world’s second-largest economy swiftly retaliated with its own punitive measures on US goods and firms, signaling that it’s prepared for the long haul.

Read the full analysis here.

US stock futures plunged before market open Monday after US President Donald Trump intensified his global trade war last week, prompting retaliation from China.

Dow futures were 5.5% lower and S&P 500 futures 6% down at 4.01 a.m. ET. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, was set to open 5.8% lower.

The massive declines in futures follow the worst two-day stretch for stocks in five years – since the pandemic.

And market analysts said investors aren’t done selling yet.

“Last week’s brutal selling pressure is set to continue on Monday, as the market is telling us that investors still lack clarity on the implications of tariffs, tariff retaliation and are worried that economic growth is likely to slow to a complete stall or recession,” said James Demmert, chief investment officer at Main Street Research.

When US President Donald Trump unveiled his “reciprocal” tariffs chart, trade economists were flummoxed.

Near the top of the list was Vietnam, which had imposed a 90% average tariff on US goods, according to the chart – far higher than the actual rate.

But the crude methodology used by the White House to calculate the “reciprocal” global tariffs quickly became clear, as was first pointed out by financial journalist James Surowiecki.

The Trump administration used a simple formula: It took each country’s trade deficit with the United States, divided it by the value of that country’s exports to the US, then divided this figure by half, in a gesture of “kindness.”

Let’s take this step by step, using official US data.

And so Trump’s tariffs were designed to punish countries for having trade surpluses with the US – not for imposing actual tariffs

US stock futures plunged Sunday evening after two sessions of selloffs that wiped away more than $5.4 trillion in market value. Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary under President Barack Obama, joined CNN’s Jessica Dean to discuss the chaos.

As White House officials offered mixed messages Sunday on whether tariffs are here to stay or a negotiating ploy, Summers wrote on X that he has “never seen as much incoherence and irrationality” from Trump administration officials.

Top Trump administration officials are offering mixed messaging on the possibility of negotiations on the president’s newly announced tariffs, downplaying severe market volatility.

US President Donald Trump has left the door open to cutting tariff deals with countries. But messaging from his top economic lieutenants Sunday painted a murkier picture.

More than 50 countries – including Vietnam, India and Israel – have approached the White House to talk about lowering tariffs, officials said Sunday.

That outreach, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” shows “that all these countries know that they’ve been ripping us off, and the day has come for that to end.”

But asked about the example of Vietnam and the potential lifting of tariffs, Trump’s senior counselor on trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, said earlier on Sunday that the administration wasn’t negotiating.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also could not say whether tariffs are here to stay.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a key aide to US President Donald Trump, said Saturday that he hopes for a “zero-tariff situation” between Europe and the United States.

Musk’s comments – in a video interview Saturday with Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini – are the strongest sign of splits within the Trump administration over the president’s tariff announcement that sparked a global market rout.

Musk has seen Tesla sales plunge in recent months amid his controversial cost-cutting role with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Sales fell 49% in Europe alone in the first two months of the quarter, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Musk’s comments come as questions swirl about his future in the White House. Last week, Politico reported – citing MAGA insiders – that Musk had overstayed his welcome in Washington and could be ousted within weeks. The White House called the Politico report “garbage” and Musk dismissed it as “fake news.”

Global markets plunged on Monday, deepening a global stocks rout triggered by US President Donald Trump’s trade war and China’s forceful response to unexpectedly high tariffs.

Germany’s Dax opened down 9%, while London’s FTSE was about 5% lower. European markets were, on the whole, faring better than Asian markets in early trade. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 7.9% lower, while the broader Topix finished down 7.7%. Tech giant Sony plummeted more than 10%.

In mainland China, where markets reopened after a public holiday, the Shanghai Composite Index closed more than 7% lower. The blue-chip CSI300 index also lost about 7%. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index last traded just under12% lower. Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent were each down more than 14% and 10% respectively.

Trading volumes in Hong Kong surged on Monday, which she said was “a clear sign of widespread forced liquidations and what can only be described as a full-blown panic.”

Asian markets are tracking the worst two-day stretch for Wall Street stocks in five years. US stock futures plunged Sunday evening after two sessions of sell-offs that wiped away over $5.4 trillion in market value.

US stocks fell sharply on Friday after China retaliated fiercely, imposing a 34% tariff on all US goods, raising fears of an escalating and damaging trade war fueled by continuing trade tension between the world’s two largest economies.

Read the full story here

Despite his tariffs wiping away trillions from the market value of global stocks, US President Donald Trump appeared untroubled late Sunday evening.

“I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

In his “Liberation Day” announcement last week, Trump claimed that the US has been “ripped off for more than 50 years,” saying this is “not going to happen anymore.”

Although Trump’s tariffs were billed as “reciprocal,” the levies were calculated to punish countries like Vietnam and Cambodia with whom the US has large trade deficits.