Washington [US], February 5: The administration of US President Donald Trump has just made a series of new moves related to a number of fields, while China announced retaliatory measures regarding tariffs.
Last-minute tariff delay for Canada and Mexico
US President Donald Trump on February 3 postponed the imposition of a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada for 30 days after reaching an agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on tightening border security to prevent the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the US. These agreements were reached shortly before the 25% tariff was originally scheduled to take effect on February 4 (US time).
President Trump said that after "very friendly" talks with President Sheinbaum, he would immediately suspend tariffs on goods from Mexico and that Sheinbaum had agreed to send 10,000 troops to the US-Mexico border, according to AFP. President Trump added that after two calls with Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada had "agreed to ensure we have a secure northern border and finally end the flow of deadly drugs like fentanyl."
For his part, Mr. Trudeau said Canada will deploy nearly 10,000 law enforcement officers to help protect the border, list drug gangs as terrorist organizations, appoint a person in charge of preventing fentanyl and cracking down on money laundering.
While Mexico and Canada were temporarily spared the last-minute US tariffs, China still faces an additional 10% tariff, effective at 00:01 on February 4 (US time). President Trump also announced that he could raise tariffs further on Beijing, according to Reuters.
In response, China's Ministry of Finance announced yesterday (February 4) that from February 10, it will impose a 15% tariff on US coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural equipment and some cars. In addition, China's Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs announced that they are imposing export controls on rare earth metals such as tungsten, tellurium, ruthenium, molybdenum and ruthenium-related products to "safeguard national security interests". China controls much of the world 's supply of rare earths , which are crucial to the transition to clean energy.
Trump considers abolishing the Department of Education?
Meanwhile, Reuters yesterday quoted an official as saying that the Trump administration will take steps to cut the budget of the US Department of Education . This disclosure came after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's advisers are considering actions to dissolve the Department of Education as part of a campaign by billionaire Elon Musk and his allies to reduce the size of the US government workforce .
Billionaire Musk, co-head of the Trump administration's Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is leading Trump's campaign to cut wasteful spending. AFP reported yesterday that billionaire Musk and his DOGE aides have taken control of the US Treasury's payment system. "The only way to prevent fraud and waste of taxpayer money is to monitor payment flows and pause suspicious transactions for review," billionaire Musk emphasized on social network X on February 3.
In addition, Reuters on February 3 quoted a senior White House official as saying that President Trump is considering merging the US Agency for International Development (USAID) into the US State Department and has "assigned Elon Musk to oversee the agency." Musk wants to close USAID, calling it a left-wing agency that is not accountable to the White House, according to Reuters.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the same day that he is now acting director of USAID, the world's largest aid agency. Mr. Rubio informed Congress about the upcoming reorganization of USAID, saying that some parts of USAID could be absorbed by the State Department and the rest could be abolished.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
