Turbulence on tariffs and Ukraine

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Politics U.S.

By Jeff Mason, White House Correspondent

For a president who likes to make rosy predictions, Donald Trump's warning on Tuesday that the tariffs he is imposing could create a "little disturbance" for Americans was a rare instance of relative candor. It was also an understatement. Stock markets see-sawed as the trade war escalated. And that was only one of the wars on Trump's agenda.

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"Lasting peace"

More than an hour into his 100-minute address to a joint session of Congress this week, Trump made some news: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had expressed willingness to negotiate about the Russia-Ukraine war after a contentious meeting on Friday stunned the world and left peace talks, not to mention the status of Washington's relationship with Kyiv, very much up in the air.

"Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer," Trump said, reading from Zelenskiy's message.

Boom. Good television. Trump got his moment, and the relationship appeared like it might be able to get back on track. I was standing outside the West Wing last Friday when Zelenskiy left the White House without signing a planned minerals deal, zooming past in his SUV, phone to his ear, so the conciliatory move seemed like an important shift.

But by the next day the U.S. had paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and military aid had already been halted, piling pressure on the Ukrainian leader to come to heel. Add to that this morning: my colleagues Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke popped a story that the Trump administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians in the U.S. who fled the conflict with Russia. (The White House says no decision has been made.)

Let's get back to those tariffs. After a month-long reprieve, Trump put 25% levies into place on Tuesday for goods from Canada and Mexico, then granted one sectoral reprieve to the auto industry for another month, helping stocks recover from steep falls. Both countries announced they will retaliate and China, which faced higher fines as well, slapped duties on 25 U.S. companies and declared itself ready for war of any kind.

Trump's "little disturbance" hasn't been so little after all.

Poll of the week

Takeaways of the week

Trump's speech to Congress gave foreign policy short shrift and saw a disjointed attempt at protest from Democratic lawmakers. Read more takeaways here.

The view from the rest of the world

Though Trump, a former reality TV host, remarked that his Oval Office spat with Zelenskiy had made good television, it did not go over well with much of the rest of the world – Russia excluded. Still European leaders, cognizant of Washington's superior hard power, are working to keep the U.S. engaged even as they bolster their own defense and efforts to support Ukraine.

Photo of the week

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

What to watch for

March 7: Trump speaks at the White House Crypto Summit.
March 12: Court hearing in Washington, D.C., over Trump administration attempt to ban transgender military service members from the military.
March 13: Deadline for government agencies to submit plans for large-scale layoffs.
March 14: U.S. government funding runs out. Shutdown begins March 15 without congressional action.

The who, what and when

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