Live

Trump’s tariff threats raise fears of export decline among Chinese manufacturers

Trump’s tariff threats raise fears of export decline among Chinese manufacturers
By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours and Joseph Stepansky
Published On 10 Mar 2025

This live page is now closed.

10 Mar 2025 - 23:20
 (23:20 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining us for day 50 of Donald Trump’s second term as president.

For more information about the dramatic cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), read our story here.

And you can discover how the Trump administration has reimagined the CBP One app for immigration with this article. Plus, learn more here about the arrest of student activist Mahmoud Khalil.

Finally, curious about the outage on the social media platform X today? We’ve got your breakdown here. We hope to see you again soon.

A demonstrator holds a placard next to police officers calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]
10 Mar 2025 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

A recap of the day’s events

It’s 7pm in Washington, DC (23:00 GMT). Let’s bring you up to speed:

  • Rights groups have condemned the arrest of Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil, which the American Civil Liberties Union said is “obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech”.
  • A judge has set a date of March 12 to hear a legal challenge against Khalil’s arrest and the effort to strip him of his status as a lawful permanent resident of the US.
  • Stocks continued their steep decline, with the S&P500 index closing the day down 2.69 percent, the Nasdaq down by about 4 percent, and the Dow Jones down 2.08 percent.
  • Democratic lawmakers have reaffirmed their opposition to a Republican budget bill that would extend tax cuts for the wealthy while likely cutting social programmes.
  • News outlets have reported that the Trump administration is planning for potential in-person meetings with Chinese and Russian officials later this year.
10 Mar 2025 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

Witkoff planning trip to Moscow to meet with Putin: Media

The news agency Reuters says that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing an anonymous source who has been briefed on the matter. The news outlet Bloomberg also reported on the planned trip earlier today.

10 Mar 2025 - 22:50
 (22:50 GMT)

‘The aggressor should not be rewarded’: Ukrainian official

Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, has told Al Jazeera he is optimistic about the upcoming talks between Ukrainian and US officials.

“It’s a first step to restore and to improve good relations between President Trump and President Zelenskyy,” he said.

The talks in Saudi Arabia arrive more than a week after Trump shouted at Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, accusing the Ukrainian leader of not being sufficiently grateful for US support.

Since then, the Trump administration has severed aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

Merezhko explained that he hoped the meeting in Saudi Arabia would lead to another, more friendly face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.

“We are also hopeful about a resumption of military aid provided to Ukraine by the United States. And also, additionally, I would say, I hope that our American friends will be receptive to President Zelenskyy’s idea about a so-called partial ceasefire, which means a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at the sea,” he said.

Analysts say Ukrainian officials are pushing the idea of a partial ceasefire as a sign of good faith in the peace negotiations – and as a means of putting pressure on Russia, which has pledged not to accept such a deal.

Merezhko warned that the peace negotiations should not veer into appeasement towards Russia.

“It’s not only about Ukraine. It’s about international law. The aggressor should not be rewarded,” he said.

10 Mar 2025 - 22:40
 (22:40 GMT)

Defence secretary denounces climate change studies as ‘crap’

The Department of Defense, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, has begun to dismantle 91 studies focused on issues like climate change, ecosystem health and democracy.

Yesterday, Hegseth spoke dismissively of climate change in particular, saying the Pentagon “does not do climate change crap”.

“We do training and warfighting,” he added.

But a 2018 report from the Pentagon found that nearly half of all US military bases face threats from climate change.

In a press release on Friday, the Pentagon said that eliminating the research studies would save $30m.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [Yves Herman/Reuters]
10 Mar 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

RFK Jr orders FDA to increase oversight of food safety

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten oversight over food safety.

Currently, the FDA regulates about 80 percent of all food ingredients. All food additives, for instance, must be FDA approved. But another category exists – “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” or GRAS – where outside experts can be used to confirm safety.

Kennedy has called on the FDA to begin changing the rules, so that companies would not vouch for the safety of their products without government oversight.

“For far too long, ingredient manufacturers and sponsors have exploited a loophole that has allowed new ingredients and chemicals, often with unknown safety data, to be introduced into the U.S. food supply without notification to the FDA or the public,” Kennedy said in a statement.

“Eliminating this loophole will provide transparency to consumers, help get our nation’s food supply back on track by ensuring that ingredients being introduced into foods are safe, and ultimately Make America Healthy Again.”

Robert F Kennedy, Jr [Rod Lamkey, Jr/AP Photo]
10 Mar 2025 - 22:20
 (22:20 GMT)
Analysis

A preview of this week’s talks between US and Ukraine

By Charles Stratford

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukrainian and US officials are scheduled for talks in Saudi Arabia — talks that are being described by many as absolutely critical and potentially the beginnings of a long and difficult road towards peace.

A lot of analysts will say that Zelenskyy and his team — although Zelenskyy is not participating in these discussions — will be keen to show that Ukraine is serious about taking on discussions towards an eventual peace framework.

The Ukrainians are also keen to get a lifting of this temporary suspension of US aid and access to US intelligence sharing, which has also been suspended in the last few days.

There is a general feeling that it is important for the Ukrainians to put the ball in Russia’s court by offering potentially a partial ceasefire, a ceasefire that would stop attacks or strikes deep into each other’s respective territory, although fighting on the ground along the front line would continue.

Already, Russia has said that it would reject any such proposal, but many analysts say it’s important for Russia to be pressured by the Ukrainians – to relieve Ukraine from the kind of pressure that it has suffered over the last few weeks from the US.

Then, of course, there is the US minerals deal. Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader, has reiterated that he’s prepared to sign that deal, but will he step back from asking for more security guarantees from the US?

Those are security guarantees that Trump, the US president, has already said fall squarely on the shoulders of Europe.

European Council President Antonio Costa, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on March 6 [Omar Havana/AP Photo]
10 Mar 2025 - 22:10
 (22:10 GMT)

Democratic leaders affirm ‘no’ vote on Republican budget bill

In a news conference on Monday, leaders for the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives have reiterated their staunch opposition to a Republican budget bill that threatens government healthcare programmes.

“The House Republican so-called spending bill does nothing to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Quite the opposite,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

“The Republican bill dramatically cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance for children and families and veterans benefits. It is not something we could ever support. House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican effort to hurt the American people.”

House Republicans are seeking to advance a 99-page stopgap measure that would prevent a government shutdown on March 14.

The budget bill would slightly increase military spending while extending Trump’s first-term tax cuts. But critics point out there would be cuts to non-defence spending, likely at the expense of programmes like healthcare for low-income families.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Selma, Alabama, on March 9 [Alyssa Pointer/Reuters]
10 Mar 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Judge sets date for student activist Mahmoud Khalil’s legal appeal

US District Judge Jesse Furman has announced that he will hear a challenge to the Trump administration’s attempt to strip student activist Mahmoud Khalil of his green card.

Khalil, a spokesperson for the pro-Palestinian student movement at Columbia University, was taken into custody on Saturday by agents for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Trump has pledged to go after “illegal protests” on college campuses, writing: “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”

But advocates warn that Khalil’s arrest marks an existential threat to free speech rights in the US.

The hearing in Khalil’s case will begin on March 12 at 11:30am US Eastern time (15:30 GMT).

Demonstrators hold placards calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil on Monday [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]
10 Mar 2025 - 21:50
 (21:50 GMT)

Mayor blames Republican pressure for removal of BLM mural

Since 2020, the large, yellow painted letters have stretched across two blocks of 16th Street in Washington, DC, sharing a powerful message: “Black Lives Matter.”

But on Monday, construction crews began the process of removing the sign in response to a Republican push against diversity initiatives.

The Trump administration has called diversity initiatives a form of discrimination, and members of Congress have pushed to strip Washington, DC – a largely Democratic city – of its ability to govern itself.

The Black Lives Matter sign was painted on the pavement mere blocks from the White House after the murder of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, prompted a reckoning over racism in 2020.

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser has told local media that the decision to remove the mural came after pressure from Republicans in Congress and from the Trump White House.

“We have bigger fish to fry than fights over what has been very important to us and to the history,” Bowser said in a news conference.

The Black Lives Matter mural is seen painted along the street as demolition begins on Monday [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
Nadine Seiler holds a banner that reads, ‘Black Lives Matter. Trump Can’t Erase Us’ [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
Kanon Kennedy looks down at the Black Lives Matter mural as demolition begins [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
Starlette Thomas holds a chunk of pavement from the Black Lives Matter mural [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
[Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]

10 Mar 2025 - 21:40
 (21:40 GMT)

WATCH: Zelenskyy and Rubio arrive in Saudi Arabia

Check it out in our video below:

10 Mar 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Musk calls US senator a ‘traitor’ for visiting Ukraine

Musk’s remark comes after US Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat and former astronaut, posted pictures on X of his visit to Ukraine.

“Just left Ukraine. What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin,” Kelly said.

Musk wrote in response: “You are a traitor”.

Kelly then replied, “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”

The exchange comes as the Trump administration has taken an increasingly hard line with Ukrainian leaders as it seeks to pressure Kyiv to reach a deal with Moscow that would end the war.

Critics have accused Trump of pursuing a strategy that favours Russia and spreading Russian misinformation, including blaming Ukraine for the invasion of its own country.

10 Mar 2025 - 21:20
 (21:20 GMT)

JD Vance blames immigration for US housing crisis

Speaking at the National League of Cities Conference, Vice President JD Vance argued that there was “ a very consistent relationship between a massive increase in immigration and a massive increase in housing prices”.

Experts, however, have questioned this assertion, noting that the data does not show a connection between increased housing prices and a rise in immigration.

Instead, high housing demand — in part due to generational buying trends — and limited supplies are more likely to be affecting prices.

Still, Vance put forth that idea to an audience of local leaders representing cities across the US.

“We’ve got a lot of people over the last four years who have come into the country illegally. And that’s something we have to work on if we want to meaningfully reduce the cost of housing,” Vance said.

When one member of the audience started to heckle Vance, he responded dismissively.

“ One of our nice representatives out here wants to actually, I guess, continue to flood the country with illegal immigrants, making your communities and citizens unaffordable,” he said, to which audible boos were heard.

Vice President JD Vance [Leah Millis/Reuters]
10 Mar 2025 - 21:10
 (21:10 GMT)
Analysis

While recession still unclear, economy ‘slowing significantly’

By Megha Bahree

Despite today’s stock market slide, Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, says it is still hard to tell if the US is headed into a recession.

However, Ziemba told Al Jazeera that “clearly the economy and economic sentiment is slowing significantly”.

Ziemba added that the country’s ability to avoid a recession will depend on “trade and fiscal policy and whether companies feel ready to invest and households to consume”.

“With the current policy uncertainty, there is a risk activity will continue to slow,” she said.

10 Mar 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

GOP leader says Democrat who protested Trump speech could face more punishment

Al Green, a Democratic US congressman from Texas, has already been censured for his protest of Trump’s address to Congress last week.

Now, Mike Johnson, Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, says Green, who stood up and waved his cane in the air during Trump’s speech, could face further punishment.

“We’re considering that. I mean, I’ve talked to a lot of Republicans over the weekend that were really disturbed by what happened on the floor,” Johnson said. “It was an unprecedented break in decorum.”

Green has said his actions were “worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president”.

Read more about Green’s protest here.

Al Green shouted as Trump addressed a joint session of Congress in Washington, DC [Win McNamee/AP Photo]
10 Mar 2025 - 20:50
 (20:50 GMT)
Explainer

Dow, S&P, NASDAQ: What are stock indexes?

Stock indexes track the collective performance of certain companies listed on the stock exchange, and they are often used to assess the health of the stock market overall.

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow indexes 30 prominent companies on the market, including Walmart, Nike and McDonald’s.
  • S&P 500: As its name may suggest, the S&P 500 includes the stock performance of the largest 500 companies in the country.
  • Nasdaq Composite Index: The Nasdaq reflects nearly all the companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the end of trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 2016 [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters]
10 Mar 2025 - 20:40
 (20:40 GMT)

Judge says Trump can’t cut funds to DEI programmes at federal agencies

A judge in Baltimore has clarified that a temporary block on Trump’s efforts to cut funds from federal programmes related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) applies to all “federal executive branch agencies, departments, and commissions”.

Judge Adam Abelson had previously ruled that Trump’s executive orders seeking to cut funding to DEI schemes “run afoul of the free speech protections”.

The lawsuit blocking the Trump measures had been brought by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and other groups.

10 Mar 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Trump administration ends security briefings for Blinken, other Biden officials

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US national intelligence, says she has revoked security clearances and barred access to classified information for former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and ex-Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

In a post on X, Gabbard said the move came at the behest of Trump.

Other Biden-era officials, including former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, were also affected.

“The President’s Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden,” Gabbard added.

10 Mar 2025 - 20:20
 (20:20 GMT)

Former VP candidate Walz says Minnesota ‘first victim’ of Trump trade war

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has responded to the Ontario premier’s announcement that the Canadian province will slap 25-percent surcharges on electricity provided to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.

“The first victims of Trump’s trade war? Minnesotans struggling to pay their skyrocketing electric bill,” Walz, who was Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 elections, wrote on X.

“Minnesota cannot afford Trump’s billionaire-run economy. We have to put a stop to this madness,” he added.

It remains unclear what effect the new levies will have on Minnesota.

Minnesota Power, the main utility serving the part of the state that borders Ontario, told The Associated Press that it only gets a “very small” proportion of its power from Ontario.

Walz has called for an end to Trump’s economic ‘madness’ [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
10 Mar 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

US and China in early stages of potential Trump-Xi meeting: Report

The Wall Street Journal has reported both governments are in early talks for a possible meeting in June.

That’s the month when both Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, celebrate their birthdays, prompting officials to call the possible meeting a “birthday summit”, according to the newspaper.

Both Trump and Xi have expressed interest in meeting although Trump has in recent days escalated his trade war with China.