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Donald Trump has agreed to suspend his aggressive tariff hike against Mexico by one month after speaking to his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum, who in return has agreed to dispatch 10,000 additional troops to the border between their two countries in order to police illegal drug trafficking.
Writing on Truth Social, the American said he had had a “very friendly” conversation with Sheinbaum and that the soldiers “will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country”.
Trump said he will also be having further talks on Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after Canada, like Mexico, announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. in response to the new administration’s trade aggression.
U.S. stock markets were down on Monday morning as traders reacted to the prospect of a developing trade war between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average all were down more than one percent upon opening and expected to fall throughout the day.
Trump administration has already released some immigrants back into the U.S. after touting aggressive crackdown
Some of the 8,000 migrants arrested under the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown have already been released back into the U.S., according to a report.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have conducted raids in cities such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, arresting immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
The surge in arrests has come as Donald Trump returns to the White House and works to fulfill a campaign promise to deport millions of illegal migrants.
ICE has shared daily numbers of those arrested, totaling about 8,000 since Trump took office.
Now, an NBC News report details how some have already been released back into the U.S., with federal court systems to blame.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 16:40
Trump to sit down with Fox’s Bret Baier for Super Bowl pregame interview amid slew of controversies
The president’s next big interview, airing Sunday, will be with the Fox host who made himself notorious during the presidential campaign last fall by shamelessly talking over Kamala Harris, refusing to let the then-vice president get a word in edgeways.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 16:30
US stock markets fall in early morning selloff after Trump slams Canada, Mexico and China with new tariffs
Here’s Rhian Lubin on this morning’s trading floor drama in response to Trump’s antics.
Ontario premier says he’s ‘ripping up’ $100m contract with Musk’s Starlink in response to US tariffs
We heard a little earlier about Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is planning to ban American liquor from shelves in his province.
He now says he is ripping up a contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet services in response to Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canada.
Ford, who said he is also banning American companies from provincial contracts, signed a $68 million (US dollar) contract with Musk’s company in November to deliver high-speed internet to remote residents in rural and northern Ontario.
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford said in a post on X.
Ford said U.S.-based businesses will lose out on “tens of billions of dollars” in new revenues as a result of Ontario’s response.
“They only have President Trump to blame,” he said.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 16:10
Trump hails border troop deal with Mexico after agreeing to pause tariffs
This is what Trump has had to say about his conversation with Sheinbaum just now in a post to Truth Social:
“I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States. These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country. We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico. I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a ‘deal’ between our two Countries.”
Here’s Andrew Feinberg’s report.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 15:50
Breaking: Mexico says US agrees to pause tariff hike for one month
Here’s the latest from Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum:
“We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements:
“1. Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.
“2. The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 15:40
Watch: Anti-Trump protesters block LA freeway for hours in response to president’s illegal immigration crackdown
Demonstrations like this could become a much more common spectacle on America’ streets as the president’s mass deportation raids ramp up.
Anti-Trump protesters block LA freeway in response to immigration crackdown
Thousands of people protesting mass deportations planned by President Donald Trump blocked a major LA freeway for several hours. Protesters gathered in Olvera Street, which dates to Spanish and Mexican rule, on Sunday (2 February) before marching to City Hall. By the afternoon, marchers had blocked all lanes of U.S. 101, causing traffic to back up in both directions and on surface streets. It took more than five hours for the freeway to fully reopen, CHP Lt. Matt Gutierrez said Sunday evening. The CHP and the Los Angeles Police Department said there were no reports of arrests.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 15:31
WHO chief asks countries to push Washington to reconsider its withdrawal
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has asked global leaders to lean on Washington to reverse Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the U.N. health agency, insisting in a closed-door meeting with diplomats last week that the U.S. will miss out on critical information about global disease outbreaks.
Joe Sommerlad3 February 2025 14:40
