India will slash tariffs on European ICE cars from 110 to 40 percent.
European carmakers currently hold less than 4 percent market share.
Local market is projected to grow from 4.4M to 6M units by 2030.
India has long guarded its domestic car industry with near-impenetrable tariffs, making foreign vehicles a rare sight on its roads unless built locally. That’s about to change.The country is now getting ready to lower those duties on European Union cars, dropping them from a steep 110 percent to 40 percent.
Final terms of the trade agreement between India and the EU will be outlined later this week, but the current proposal outlines that tariffs on EU-made combustion-engine cars will fall to 40 percent for up to 200,000 units annually. Over time, that figure is expected to drop even further, eventually settling at 10 percent.
In order to protect local firms like Mahinda & Mahindra as well as Tata Motors, battery-electric vehicles would be excluded from the tariff cuts for the first five years. After that, European-made BEVs will also qualify for the reduced tariff structure.
Only cars priced above €15,000 (roughly $17,700) would be eligible for the reduction, a threshold designed to limit direct competition with mass-market offerings from firms such as Maruti Suzuki. These models dominate India’s affordable car segment and are critical to local industry stability.
According to Reuters, the deal is still under negotiation, with finer details yet to be finalized. Certain provisions remain subject to revision before the full announcement is made.
A Massive Market, Ripe for Growth
India now ranks as the third-largest new car market in the world, trailing only the United States and China. Yet European brands currently hold less than a 4 percent share of annual sales, positioning India as a key target for future expansion. Around 4.4 million new vehicles were sold in the country last year, with forecasts suggesting that number could climb to 6 million by 2030.
While the trade pact is expected to give EU carmakers a clearer path into the Indian market, it could also make things easier for Indian textile and jewellery exports. Those goods currently face US tariffs as high as 50 percent, and access to a new market could help take some pressure off.
GM will build the third-generation Buick Envision in America.
Will be built alongside the Chevrolet Equinox at Fairfax Assembly.
Production begins in 2028, following the demise of the Chevy Bolt.
The Chinese-built Buick Envision got slammed by Trump’s tariffs and the company recently hiked prices by $3,000. This followed an earlier increase, which means the cost of entry has shot up $4,500 in less than a year.
As a result, the 2026 Envision now starts at $41,000 before a $1,995 destination fee. That’s pretty steep and the price increases appear to have started weighing on sales.
While the model was only down 11.4 percent last year to 41,924 units, fourth quarter sales plummeted 60.9 percent. Even with the steep decline, the Envision finished the year as Buick’s third best-selling vehicle, accounting for just over a fifth of the brand’s total annual sales of 198,155 deliveries.
However, the situation was unsustainable and General Motors has effectively admitted as much. In a brief statement, the company said they’ll “onshore production of the next-generation Buick compact SUV to Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City, beginning in 2028.”
The automaker didn’t have much to say about the move, but stated the “decision further strengthens GM’s domestic manufacturing footprint and supports U.S. jobs, building on $5.5 billion in new investments announced across our U.S. manufacturing sites in the last year.”
We also asked whether the current model will remain on sale until its replacement arrives in 2028. A GM spokesperson told us, “We are working through the model transition plan”, a rather a noncommittal response that suggests the company isn’t ready to confirm details just yet.
Chevrolet Bolt Dies Soon
Interestingly, the announcement also revealed the impending death of the Chevrolet Bolt. While the EV was just relaunched, the company had previously referred to it as a “limited run model.”
They weren’t joking as Fairfax Assembly will be retooled to build the Chevrolet Equinox starting in 2027. This suggests the Bolt will only be sticking around for about a year.
The third-generation Envision will follow one year after the Equinox and this could hint at some commonality between the two models. This remains to be seen, but the bowtie brand’s crossover has a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder that develops 175 hp (131 kW / 177 PS) and up to 203 lb-ft (275 Nm) of torque. It’s connected to a continuously variable or eight-speed automatic transmission.
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced in a social media post Wednesday that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte brokered a possible agreement on Greenland, though Trump provided few details or a timeline.
Trump’s comments came just hours after he took his case for acquiring the Arctic island to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, urging European leaders to begin negotiations while appearing to rule out a military takeover.
A few hours later, Trump wrote after meeting one-on-one with Rutte that the two “have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.”
“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” Trump wrote. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”
Trump threatened over the weekend to place a 10% tariff on goods coming into the United States from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom if they continued to oppose his attempts to acquire Greenland. Trump wrote he would increase the tariffs to 25% in June if a deal hadn’t been brokered before then.
Trump wrote in his most recent social media post that further negotiations about Greenland will be handled by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and several other officials.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” Trump wrote, referring to a possible missile defense system. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”
Asked by reporters if the framework includes U.S. ownership of Greenland, Trump declined to say directly.
“It’s a long-term deal. It’s the ultimate long-term deal. And I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else,” Trump said, later adding it would last “forever.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly wrote in a statement that if the “deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to Greenland, at very little cost, forever.”
“President Trump is proving once again he’s the Dealmaker in Chief,” Kelly added. “As details are finalized by all parties involved, they will be released accordingly.”
‘I don’t have to use force’
Trump insisted during the 75-minute, wide-ranging speech he gave a few hours before his announcement that Greenland represents “a core national security interest” that “would greatly enhance the security of the entire” NATO alliance if it were fully controlled by the United States.
“I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States,” Trump said. “Just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have … there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Trump signaled he will likely not use the U.S. military to take over Greenland, saying, “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
But he indicated any European country that objects to the U.S. making Greenland part of the country will face repercussions.
“You can say ‘yes,’ and we will be very appreciative, or you can say ‘no’ and we will remember,” Trump said.
Greenland would become the site of a missile defense system that Trump refers to as the Golden Dome, which he said could “keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay” if the island becomes part of the United States.
Trump bashes NATO
Trump repeatedly criticized the other NATO countries during his speech, falsely claiming more than once the United States has never benefited from the military alliance formed following World War II.
“What we have gotten out of NATO is nothing, except to protect Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia,” Trump said. “I mean, we’ve helped them for so many years.”
The United States is the only country in the history of the alliance to invoke Article 5, which says that an attack against one is an attack against all.
That led NATO countries to send their military members to fight alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan following the 2001 terrorist attacks. More than 1,000 of those NATO troops died, according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sought to reassure Trump of NATO’s security commitment to all of its member countries later in the day, when the two met one-on-one during the forum.
“Let me tell you, they will. And they did in Afghanistan, as you know,” Rutte said, according to audio of the exchange shared by the White House pool.
Rutte noted that for “every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another NATO country” or Australia.
“So you can be assured, absolutely, if ever the U.S. will be under attack, your allies will be with you. Absolutely. There’s an absolute guarantee,” Rutte said. “I really want to tell you this, because this is important. It pains me if you think it is not.”
Trump told reporters ahead of his meeting with Rutte that he “could see” paying a price for Greenland, though he did not elaborate. He said he had “no idea” when he might speak directly with leaders of Denmark about trying to acquire Greenland. He said he believes Rutte is “frankly more important.”
Investors and single-family homes
Trump focused some of his speech in Davos on domestic issues, talking briefly about an executive order he signed this week focused on the availability of housing within the United States.
“I have signed an executive order banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. It’s just not fair to the public. They’re not able to buy a house,” Trump said. “And I’m calling on Congress to pass that ban into permanent law, and I think they will.”
Trump said he wanted to take steps to help Americans afford homes, but that he didn’t want those actions to reduce the value of homes people already own. He didn’t elaborate on how that would work.
“I am very protective of people that already own a house, of which we have millions and millions and millions. And because we have had such a good run, the house values have gone up tremendously, and these people have become wealthy. They weren’t wealthy. They become wealthy because of their house,” he said. “And every time you make it more and more and more affordable for somebody to buy a house cheaply, you’re actually hurting the value of those houses, obviously, because the one thing works in tandem with the other.”
Trump said if he wanted to, he could “really crush the housing market” and decrease housing prices, though he didn’t say how exactly he would go about doing that if he wanted to.
Trump said he’s ordered “government-backed institutions to purchase up to $200 billion in mortgage bonds,” and that he expects to announce a new Federal Reserve chairman “in the not-too-distant future,” who he believes will decrease interest rates. Trump has been feuding over interest rates with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term as chair ends in May although Powell can remain as a governor.
Trump also called on Congress to approve legislation that would prevent credit card companies from hiking their interest rates above 10% for one year, saying that would help people save some money that they could use for buying a house.
President Donald Trump waved and pointed to the crowd as he exited the stage following his remarks at the Iowa State Fairgrounds July 3, 2025 at an event kicking off a yearlong celebration leading up to America’s 250th anniversary. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to Iowa on Jan. 27 to deliver a speech focused on the economy and energy, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told reporters Wednesday.
The president is expected to begin weekly travel ahead of the midterm elections — in which the GOP is aiming to improve its razor-thin majority in the U.S. House and maintain its lead in the U.S. Senate.
The anticipated travel will also come as Trump seeks to boost his affordability policy blitz and as the cost of living marks a focal point of the midterm elections. On Tuesday, stocks plunged after Trump doubled down on threats to acquire Greenland and pledged tariffs on eight European countries that opposed his plans.
While traveling to Davos, Switzerland, with Trump for the World Economic Forum, Wiles told the traveling press that officials in Trump’s Cabinet would also be increasing their domestic travel.
The timing and location of the Iowa event have yet to be announced. Trump last visited the Hawkeye State in July 2025, which marked the beginning of a yearlong celebration heading into the 250th anniversary of the country.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is slated to be in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday for a roundtable with local leaders and community members, according to his office Wednesday.
The vice president will also give remarks centered on “restoring law and order in Minnesota.”
Thousands of Minnesotans have been protesting the Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence there following the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by a federal agent.
Vance is also set to make a visit to an industrial shipping facility, in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, according to his office.
Vance is set to deliver remarks there focused on the administration’s “commitment to lower prices, bigger paychecks, and creating more good-paying jobs in Ohio and across the Midwest,” per his office.
Canada will cut EV tariffs from 100 percent to 6.1 percent.
China will slash canola duties from 84 percent to 15 percent.
The trade deal aims to repair Canada–China relations.
Canada and China announced a major tariff shift today in Beijing, and while it’s sure to have some North American farmers whooping with joy, it might also result in the region’s auto workers punching walls in frustration.
In late 2024, Canada had imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, following similar action by the United States. That effectively shut out Chinese EVs from the Canadian market and was meant to protect local industry. China retaliated with crushing tariffs on Canadian canola seed of 84 percent, which effectively bottlenecked an export industry worth billions of dollars.
The new agreement reached by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping rewrites that script. Canada will now allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles a year to be imported at a reduced tariff of around 6.1 percent, a massive drop from the previous 100 percent, and ease tariffs on steel and aluminium.
By the fifth year of the agreement, the EV import cap will rise to 70,000 units. “That’s a return to levels last seen in 2023, the last full year before the Canadian tariff actions,” Carney said.
Even so, the number remains relatively modest in the context of the overall market. Canadian consumers bought nearly 1.9 million vehicles last year, meaning Chinese EVs will still account for a small fraction, albeit a larger one when looking solely at electric vehicles. That said, we still don’t have the total EV sales figure for 2025.
China, for its part, will cut its canola seed duty to about 15 percent by March 1, significantly improving market access for Canadian farmers. The move is part of a broader effort to repair strained relations between the two nations and comes as the result of the first high-level visit by a Canadian prime minister to Beijing in nearly a decade.
But not everyone is thrilled. Some Canadian auto workers and industry observers worry that lower EV tariffs and an influx of affordable cars could increase competition in an already challenging market. And ahead of the final meeting Ontario Premier Doug Ford made clear he was against the lifting of tariffs.
Carney, however, predicts the EV pact will result in “considerable” Chinese investment into Canada’s auto sector that will create jobs, Reuters reports, while helping it meet its climate goals.
“For Canada to build its own competitive EV sector, we will need to learn from innovative partners, access their supply chains, and increase local demand,” he said.
US President Donald Trump and his administration will certainly be dismayed at this latest news from Canada. But there will also be thousands of American soy bean farmers whose livelihoods have been trashed by tariffs that will be wishing Trump would make a similar deal.
Multi-colored traditional Greenlandic homes in Nuuk, Greenland, are seen from the water on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened Friday to place tariffs on Greenland and any country that opposes his efforts to take over the Arctic island, as members of Congress from both political parties were in Europe to assure allied nations that lawmakers won’t go along with his plans.
“I may do that for Greenland too. I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said. “So I may do that.”
Trump has been increasingly focused on acquiring Greenland during his second term in the Oval Office and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this month that “utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
Lawmakers not on board
Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been skeptical or outright opposed to Trump’s aspirations for Greenland, a territory of Denmark, which is a NATO ally.
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine independent Sen. Angus King, co-chairs of the Senate Arctic Caucus, met with officials from Denmark this week to try to reassure the country’s leaders.
King wrote in a statement after the meeting that “the Denmark and Greenland coalition reiterated to us that they are fully prepared to cooperate with the United States in any way to expand our national security presence in Greenland – an agreement which goes back 75 years.”
“It was a very productive meeting and I’m hopeful that the administration will finally realize that taking Greenland over by a military force is almost unthinkable — to attack essentially a NATO ally,” King added. “That would be the greatest gift to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin that this country could possibly bestow.”
Murkowski wrote that the “United States, Denmark and Greenland should be able to count on each other as partners in diplomacy and national security.”
“Respect for the sovereignty of the people of Greenland should be non-negotiable, which is why I was grateful for the opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with Foreign Ministers from Denmark and Greenland,” Murkowski wrote. “Meetings like the one held today are integral to building stronger relationships with our allies that will continue to endure amid a shifting geopolitical landscape.”
House speaker derides ‘media narrative’
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a press conference this week that he hasn’t heard any plans for military action in Greenland at any briefings he’s attended and that he believes “this is a media narrative that’s been created.”
Johnson said he doesn’t “anticipate any boots on the ground anywhere anytime soon,” though he added the United States does have national security and critical mineral interests in Greenland.
“Greenland is of strategic importance, its geography and everything else. So look, again, you have to wait for that to play out. I’m going to leave it to the administration to articulate it how they will,” Johnson said. “But I think what the president is articulating is something that everybody objectively has to acknowledge, that Greenland has strategic significance to us and also to other countries around the world, so we need to play that very seriously.”
A bipartisan congressional delegation was in Denmark on Friday to communicate to leaders of that country and Greenland that they don’t support Trump’s efforts.
Lawmakers on the trip include Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, Murkowski, New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, as well as Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean, Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, California Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs, Delaware Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride and New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks.
EU may replace tariffs on Chinese EVs with price controls.
Minimum pricing could ease tensions but still limit imports.
Policy shift would protect European-built cars from China.
After months of trade tension and shifting political winds, the European Union is now considering a dramatic reversal of its electric vehicle policy. Just 18 months after introducing steep tariffs aimed at shielding domestic manufacturers from a flood of Chinese EVs, officials are weighing a new approach that could scrap those levies altogether.
But that doesn’t mean those Chinese automakers will have things their own way.
Instead of tariffs of up to 45 percent, the exact rate varying depending on how much financial assistance the EU investigators believed each Chinese brand got from the Chinese government, the EU is looking into setting minimum prices for the Asian imports.
Chinese companies would need to submit pricing proposals “adequate to eliminate the injurious effects of the subsidies and provide equivalent effect to duties,” according to a European Commission document seen by the South China Morning Post. Other factors, such as planned future investments in the EU, would be taken into account, the report says.
Trade Tensions
A minimum price would allow Western automakers building cars within the EU to compete with the likes of BYD and Chery. But because the Chinese brands wouldn’t have to hand over tariff cash and would instead keep profits, the system would ease trade tensions between the two regions.
After the EU slapped tariffs on imported EVs, China responded by introducing tariffs on goods heading the other way, including dairy, pork, and brandy, Bloomberg reports.
The EU’s tariffs ironically hurt some of the Western brands they were supposed to help, because cars like the BMW iX3, which was made in China and shipped to Europe for sale, were also subject to the duties. Volvo moved its Euro-market production of EX30 electric SUVs from China to Belgium to escape the tariffs.
Unstoppable
And despite the introduction of those tariffs, Chinese brands have taken an increasingly large share of the European car market. Its EVs continued to prove popular, but its hybrid models, which are not subject to tariffs, have been flying out of showrooms.
In 2024, Chinese cars accounted for around 2.5 percent of European sales; by the end of last year that had grown to around 7 percent, and almost one in every 10 cars sold in the UK in 2025 came with a Chinese badge.
President Donald Trump holds up the "One, Big Beautiful Bill" Act that he signed into law on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Brandon - Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — This year produced a seemingly endless array of history-making events and nearly constant change to immigration policy, tariffs, the Education Department and federal health care programs.
President Donald Trump came back into office emboldened by a decisive 2024 election victory and empowered by Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress. The unified GOP government enacted a major tax cuts and domestic spending law in July, but hit a roadblock in late September when the federal government shut down for a record-breaking six weeks.
Here’s a look back at some of the biggest news stories from Washington, D.C.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., officially took over the role from Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledging to protect the legislative filibuster, the 60-vote procedural hurdle that requires at least some bipartisanship for major legislation to advance. Meanwhile, several committees began the confirmation process for Trump’s nominees.
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Just days ahead of his second inauguration, a judge sentenced Trump in the New York hush money case for paying off an adult film star in the leadup to the 2016 election.
Just before the end of the month, Trump signed the first bill approved by the Republican-controlled Congress, the Laken Riley Act. And he announced plans to implement tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, the start of one of his signature economic policies.
February
Lawsuits against Trump’s actions began piling up within weeks as Democratic attorneys general, immigrant rights organizations and civil liberties groups accused the administration of overstepping its authority.
Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education began advancing shortly after the Senate voted to confirm Linda McMahon as secretary. In one of her first acts leading the department, she wrote in a memo its “final mission” would be to “to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.”
Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts issued a rare public statement defending the judicial branch against criticism from Trump.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee asked the Defense Department inspector general to look into the use of the Signal messaging app by high-ranking officials to discuss an imminent bombing in Yemen. A journalist at The Atlantic was inadvertently added to the chat and later published a series of articles about the experience.
April
The Trump administration admitted in court filings that officials mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025. (Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court became more involved in the national debate about Trump’s policies toward immigrants, first ruling that the administration didn’t need to bring Abrego Garcia back before reversing course and ruling officials must “facilitate” his return to the United States.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, sitting alongside Trump in the Oval Office, later said he wouldn’t send Abrego Garcia back.
The Supreme Court ruled that a ban on transgender people serving in the military could remain in place while the case continued at a lower level, that the Trump administration violated due process rights when it tried to deport some Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, that the administration could end temporary protected status for 350,000 Venezuelans, and that the Trump administration could proceed with deportations for 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who had been granted temporary protected status.
Republicans in the House voted to approve a 1,116-page package that combined 11 bills into what would eventually become the “big, beautiful bill,” sending the measure to the Senate.
Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with “a more aggressive form” of prostate cancer.
June
Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum, from 25% to 50%, saying during a trip to a U.S. Steel plant in Pennsylvania that he would increase them even further if he thought it would be necessary to “secure the steel industry in the United States.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported later in the month that his tariff policies would reduce the country’s deficit but likely slow the economy.
Immigration continued to be a central part of the news cycle with Abrego Garcia returning to the U.S., California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla being forcibly removed and handcuffed while attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a press conference in Los Angeles and the Supreme Court weighing in on lower courts issuing nationwide injunctions.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson celebrates with fellow House Republicans during an enrollment ceremony of H.R. 1, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, at the U.S. Capitol on July 3, 2025. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
July
The Senate approved the final, much reworked version of the “big, beautiful bill,” sending it back to the House, which voted along party lines to clear the sweeping tax and health care package for Trump, who signed it on the Fourth of July.
The legislation included several policy goals for the GOP, including on Medicaid, immigration and deportations and a national private school voucher program. The Congressional Budget Office expects the law will increase the federal deficit by $3.394 trillion during the next decade and lead 10 million people to lose access to health insurance.
The Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration could continue with its plans for mass layoffs and downsizing at the Education Department.
Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a “benign and common” condition for people over the age of 70, according to U.S. Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, the president’s physician.
Senators from both parties expressed frustration that Department of Agriculture officials didn’t consult with Congress before proposing to move thousands of jobs out of the Washington, D.C., area.
Trump announced a deal with European Union leaders that would result in a 15% tariff on most goods coming into the U.S. from those 27 countries.
August
President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during an event announcing broad global tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump started off the month instituting a 15% tariff on goods brought into the U.S. from about three dozen countries, though he raised that amount for several nations, including 18% on products from Nicaragua, 30% on imports from South Africa and 50% on goods from Brazil.
A New York State appeals court ruled the $465 million civil penalty against Trump in the case where he was found liable for financial fraud for inflating the worth of some of his real estate holdings was excessive.
Republican and Democratic state legislatures, urged on by the president and members of Congress, sought to begin the November 2026 midterm elections early by redrawing maps for U.S. House seats to give their party a baked-in advantage.
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook sued Trump after he attempted to fire her, arguing in court documents his actions were an “unprecedented and illegal attempt” that would erode the board’s independence.
Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez testified before a Senate committee that she was fired from that role after less than a month because she refused to pre-approve vaccine recommendations.
Trump and several other high-ranking Republicans spoke at the memorial service for conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk’s death was one of several instances of political violence this year that also included the killing of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the arson at the official home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the shooting at the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta.
Congress failed to approve the dozen full-year government funding bills before the start of the new fiscal year, leaving an opening for a government shutdown. Democrats tried to bring attention to health care costs and other issues throughout the weeks-long debacle.
The No Kings day protests highlighted some Americans’ discontent with Trump and Republican policies a little more than a year before the 2026 midterm elections will measure that frustration at the ballot box.
Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for construction of a ballroom that will be nearly double the size of the 55,000-square-foot residence and workplace.
The funding bill approved by Congress and signed by Trump included three full-year funding bills but a stopgap for the rest of government, setting up the possibility of a partial government shutdown beginning in February if lawmakers don’t broker a deal before then.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case that will determine whether Trump overstepped when he instituted tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
A small memorial of flowers and an American flag has been set up outside the Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 27, 2025. Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot a day earlier in what authorities called a targeted shooting. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
Separately, the FBI charged a 30-year-old Virginia man with placing pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee offices ahead of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The House and Senate were unable to come up with a bipartisan agreement to avoid a spike in health insurance premiums for the 22 million Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace who have benefited from an enhanced tax credit created during the coronavirus pandemic to make coverage less expensive. But a discharge petition in the House will force a floor vote early in the new year to extend the subsidies for three more years.
President Donald Trump addresses the nation in an address from the Diplomatic Room of the White House on Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — As Americans continue to face rising prices ahead of year-end holidays, President Donald Trump blamed inflation and health care costs on his predecessor during a prime-time speech Wednesday in which he also claimed to have fixed the issues.
Trump “inherited a mess” and has turned the United States into the “envy of the entire globe” by imposing an immigration crackdown, tariffs and tax breaks, he said.
“Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history. There’s never been anything like it, and I think most would agree I was elected in a landslide,” Trump said.
Standing before a backdrop of Christmas decorations, Trump also promised $1,776 checks would arrive for members of the United States military by Christmas.
And he continued to blame Democrats for health care costs that are projected to skyrocket next month when tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans expire.
Nearly a year into his second term, Trump remains fixated on blaming former President Joe Biden even as his own approval ratings sink, according to numerous recent polls.
A plaque below Biden’s photo in Trump’s newly installed “Presidential Walk of Fame” display reads “Sleepy Joe Biden,” according to reports from journalists present at the White House Wednesday.
“When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. This happened during a Democrat administration, and it’s when we first began hearing the word ‘affordability,’” Trump said.
Consumer price index data released Thursday for September through November show the overall cost of goods rose 2.7% over the past 12 months, after rising 3% for the 12 months recorded at the end of September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When Trump took office in January 2025, it was 3% over the previous 12 months. The bureau did not analyze data for October 2025 because of the government shutdown.
In recent weeks, Trump has said “affordability” is a “hoax.”
Yet the bulk of Trump’s somewhat hastily scheduled address — the White House announced it Tuesday — focused on lowering costs for housing, electricity and health care.
Trump announced he will send a $1,776 “warrior dividend” to every U.S. servicemember. The amount is in honor of the year of the country’s founding, Trump said. Checks are “already on the way,” he said.
That could add up to as much as $2.6 billion, according to a White House estimate Wednesday night that 1.45 million service members would receive the payment.
Health care costs
He also touted trumprx.gov, where he said Americans can find “unprecedented price reductions” on prescription drugs starting in January.
“These big price cuts will greatly reduce the cost of health care,” Trump said.
He boosted a Republican plan on Capitol Hill to fund individual health savings accounts, or HSAs, in annual amounts of $1,000 to $1,500 depending on age and poverty level. An HSA is not health insurance.
“I want the money to go directly to the people so you can buy your own health care. You’ll get much better health care at a much lower price,” Trump said.
Four House Republicans defected Wednesday to sign a Democrat-led petition to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and force a floor vote in January on extending health insurance premium subsidies for people who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
‘My favorite word’
Trump spent several minutes addressing the economy, stating that prices on groceries and fuel are coming down. Both claims are false, according to government data.
“I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down fast,” Trump said.
The latest consumer price index for September showed gasoline prices rose 4.1% over the past 12 months, and “was the largest factor in the all items monthly increase,” increasing 1.5% over the previous month.
Food prices rose faster than overall inflation in recent months, according to the government’s latest data. Food prices in August were 3.2% higher than a year ago, according to the data.
Still, Trump claimed an economic turnaround that he credited to his international trade policy.
“Much of this success has been accomplished by tariffs — my favorite word ‘tariffs’ — which for many decades have been used successfully by other countries against us, but not anymore,” he said.
The U.S. ended fiscal year 2025 with a deficit reaching nearly $1.8 trillion, or roughly 6% of the domestic economy’s gross domestic product.
Trump unilaterally imposed a global 10% tariff on all foreign goods in April, plus higher tariffs on many major trading partners, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether Trump’s emergency tariffs are legal.
The U.S. collected nearly $195 billion in customs duties in fiscal year 2025, up from $77 billion in fiscal 2024, according to the U.S. Treasury’s monthly statement.”
Americans have lost faith in Trump’s ability to handle the economy, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll published Wednesday.
Trump received a 36% approval rating on his economic strategy, the lowest rating over the past six years that the survey has asked voters the question.
A Fox News poll released Nov. 19 found 76% of respondents saw the economy negatively. Of all voters polled, 41% approved and 58% disapproved of Trump’s performance. That’s down from the conservative news network’s poll of Biden’s approval ratings during the same point in his presidency, which the network says was 44%.
Mum on Venezuela
The president did not spend much time addressing his military campaign off the coast of Venezuela, despite declaring just 24 hours beforehand that the U.S. had formed a “blockade” in the Caribbean Sea.
Trump posted on his own social media platform Truth Social Tuesday night that Venezuela is “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
The campaign, which has become top of mind for many lawmakers on Capitol Hill, is about preventing drug smuggling to the U.S., Trump and Republican lawmakers have repeatedly said.
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to release unedited footage of a Sept. 2 strike that killed two shipwrecked individuals who were clinging to what was left of a boat after an initial strike.
December 18, 20259:30 amThis report was updated to reflect new Consumer Price Index data on inflation released Thursday.
Kia delays U.S. debut of EV4 sedan and pickup amid tariff issues.
It seeks stable import costs before new American EV commitments.
Company warns gas models may face higher prices if tariffs persist.
Kia had a plan just six months ago, one that mapped out several new electric models for the North American market. Now, that plan seems to have hit a wall, stalling before it ever gained momentum.
At the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia America’s vice president of marketing, Russell Wager, shared a candid update. The fate of both the EV4 sedan and Kia’s upcoming pickup truck now hinges on something entirely beyond the company’s reach: tariff stability.
Speaking to Car and Driver, Wager called out tariffs as the reason that Americans haven’t had access to the EV4 to this point. The car has suffered one delay after another.
What’s the Hold-Up?
When asked about that delay, Wager said “Can you give me the answer of when the tariffs are going to be resolved in Mexico, Canada, and Seoul? If you give me that answer, I’ll be as specific as possible.”
Wager made it clear that the Korean automaker isn’t waiting for tariffs to go away altogether, either. It just wants to see them set at a specific stable figure.
“At that point in time we look at it and say, are we at 25 [percent], are we at 15—and then we can build our business case,” he said. “It was originally designed and engineered when the tariffs were zero percent.”
For now, it’s the uncertainty that keeps cars like the EV4 and Kia’s planned EV pickup out of the USA. Of course, customer demand might not be strong enough anyway after the end of the federal tax EV credits.
Wager admitted that both factors are playing a role. “We’ve got a great portfolio of EVs that are on sale in a lot of other places in the world that we could choose from,” he added. “We just need resolution, and then we also need the consumer market here to want them.”
Get Ready for Price Increases
Between now and whenever Kia decides what to do with the pickup and EV4, it might have to bump prices up.
“Others have raised prices,” Wager said. “I’m not going to name names, and we’ve seen their sales drop. The takeaway is we can’t do it forever. We’ve made it eight months since April so far. If tariffs don’t get resolved or they’re that high, we’ll have to make the business decision. As far as parts tariffs and import tariffs, at some point in time, we can’t absorb it all.”
Hyundai Motor Group has already proven that it can bend a little but part of its biggest draw is being a solid value proposition against rivals. The near future will determine if it can bend enough to keep that reputation without breaking.
Ford GM and Stellantis CEOs to testify before Congress in January.
Hearing focuses on pricing, regulations, EV policy, and trade talks.
Senator Ted Cruz calls it a reality check on affordability rules.
For the first time in nearly twenty years, the CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis may once again share a table before Congress. The Senate Commerce Committee has called on Ford’s Jim Farley, GM’s Mary Barra, and Stellantis’ Antonio Filosa to testify on January 14 in a high-profile hearing exploring the auto industry’s outlook on federal transportation policy and vehicle affordability.
The session will also delve into the uneasy transition toward electrification, a subject that continues to divide policymakers and automakers alike. Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, has been invited to join the discussion, adding an electric perspective to the mix.
The last time all three Detroit bosses appeared together on Capitol Hill was late 2008 during the financial crisis, bailout negotiations, and a moment when the industry’s future looked genuinely uncertain. This time, the pressure points are different but no less significant.
Why Bring Them Together Now?
Senator Ted Cruz, who’s spearheading the hearing, has titled it “Pedal to the Policy: The Views of the American Auto Industry on the Upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization.”
Based on reporting from the Union-Bulletin, the sessions will probe fuel economy and emissions mandates, tariffs, federal EV policy, new-vehicle pricing, and how automakers plan to navigate the next decade. Cruz frames the meeting as a long-overdue reality check on affordability.
“The average price of a car has more than doubled in the past decade,” said Cruz, blaming “onerous government-mandated technologies and radical environmental regulations.”
What’s Driving Up Costs?
No doubt, the average transaction price (ATP) of a new car is quite high these days. Data from Cox Automotive shows that it surpassed $50,000 in September.
A decade ago, that figure was in the low $30,000s. Notably, analysts think the shift is due to several factors, including, but not limited to, regulation. Inflation, tariffs, higher-end trims, and the introduction of more EVs all have a part to play.
Republicans say policy changes earlier this year, including repealing federal EV mandates and CAFE targets under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are steps toward lowering prices. However, Cruz argues lawmakers need to go further. This is all happening at a critical point in the U.S. automotive industry too.
The debate comes at a pivotal moment for the U.S. auto sector. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) faces renewal or renegotiation by July 1. If it lapses, the fallout alone could drive vehicle costs higher, regardless of any new legislation.
Canada’s PM Mark Carney meets Xi Jinping amid tense trade discussions.
Reports suggest Canada may drop EV tariffs to restart canola exports.
Carney says no quick deal expected, needs more time to rebuild ties.
Seven years after Canadian leaders last met their Chinese opposite numbers, Prime Minister Mark Carney is sitting down with Chinese President Xi Jinping. At stake are billions of dollars worth of trade, but Carney hinted that the trade agreement many are hoping for might not materialise, at least not from this first face-to-face.
The two leaders are getting together at the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Gyeongju, South Korea, and in the run-up to the meeting, some news reports suggested that Canada could be ready to axe the 100 percent tariff on imported Chinese EVs put in place in 2024.
Canada is under pressure to hit eco targets, and giving access to more affordable EVs could help. But the real pressure to cancel the EV tariffs is coming from Canada’s farmers.
The country’s Canola industry is worth billions of dollars, with a healthy chunk of that revenue coming from China. But exports to China have tanked since the Chinese placed a 75.8 percent tariff on canola seed in response to EV tariffs.
So a simple “you drop your tariffs and I’ll drop mine” handshake could sort everything, right? It’s not that easy, and Carney was careful not to suggest that he expected to come back from this initial meeting with an oven-baked trade agreement.
“We will explore what we can build on. This is our second largest trading partner. This is the second largest economy in the world,” Carney told the media in the build-up to the meet, as reported by CTV News.
“[But] there’s no preset offer. This is the difference between relationship and transaction,” he added, explaining that the relationship between the two countries needed to “deepen” and that there were many other topics up for discussion besides EVs.
Another reason Carney might hesitate before lifting EV tariffs is concern over the welfare of Canada’s own auto industry, which is already taking a beating from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and the current US-Canada tensions aren’t likely to ease those problems soon.
The last thing it needs is an influx of bargain-priced competitors from China.
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