Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vance says the Trump administration is starting a trading bloc for critical minerals with price floors and financing.....

The U.S. deficit with its global trading partners nearly doubled in November as the shortfall with the European Union swelled and the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs worked their way through the economy, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Following a month where the trade deficit hit its lowest level since early 2009, it shot up to $56.8 billion, an increase of 94.6% from October. Of that gain, about one-third came with the European Union, where the goods deficit rose by $8.2 billion. The goods deficit with China decreased by about $1 billion to $13.9 billion. On a year-over-year basis,...

India and the European Union have finalized a trade deal to remove tariffs on more than 90% of goods traded between the two...In 2025, India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU stood at $136.54 billion...New Delhi's exports to Europe were $75.85 billion and imports were $60.68 billion...

Oh, Xi Jinping Pooh is not going to be very happy with Mark Carney, the globalist squish Prime Minister of Canada. It wasn't a week ago that the two of them were bestest broskis and the rest of the Western Hemisphere was going, 'You out your mind, dude? Or just having a Newsom moment?'Even the Washington Post took a step back.DUDEWashington Post Editorial Board "But there is a fine line between “pragmatism” and naiveté which Carney has already started to blur. Carney and Xi did not simply agree to new trading parameters. They put on a show.Frustrations with one American...

The International Monetary Fund is preparing for the possibility of a rapid sell-off of U.S. dollar-denominated assets, its managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said today. "At the fund, one muscle that we are building is our ability to hypothetically present scenarios of unthinkable events and then figure out what to do," Georgieva said at an event hosted by Bruegel, a Brussels-based think-tank. Asked whether the scenarios include a potential run on dollar assets, Georgieva said the fund runs "all kinds of scenarios" and that it was examining the issue as part of its ongoing analysis. Her comments come as Donald Trump's...

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday his country has no intention of pursuing a free trade deal with China. He was responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if America's northern neighbor went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing. Carney said his recent agreement with China merely cuts tariffs on a few sectors that were recently hit with tariffs. Trump claims otherwise, posting that "China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen. I only...

President Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada into the U.S. over Canada's new partnership with China. "If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a 'Drop Off Port' for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken," he wrote on social media. "China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," he wrote. Trump said a new tariff would kick in if Canada strikes a deal with China. "It will immediately be...

President Donald Trump threatened on Saturday that he would implement 100% tariffs on Canada if it strikes a deal to become a "drop off port" for China. "If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a "drop off port" for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% tariff against all...

China posted a jaw-dropping $1.2 trillion trade surplus in 2025—most of which came from the Global South, rather than the United States. Amid various other major events in global news—large-scale unrest in Iran, the stunning tactical raid directed against the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, and the ongoing spat between the United States and Denmark (and other European nations) over Greenland—one item has gone virtually unnoticed. China, the world’s second-largest economy, reported a $1.189 trillion trade surplus for 2025—meaning that the total value of its exports for the year exceeded its imports by that amount.

President Trump told reporters Sunday night that he was “inclined” to deny ExxonMobil any role in rebuilding Venezuela’s moribund oil industry after its CEO told him point-blank Friday that the South American country was “uninvestable” despite the recent capture of President Nicolas Maduro. “I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida. “They’re playing too cute.” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods made the blunt assessment during a White House meeting of petroleum executives whom Trump was trying to persuade to restart production in Venezuela after more than 25 years of...

A federal effort to throw about $40 billion in taxpayer cash at semiconductor manufacturers is now going to double as a backdoor effort at expanding federal subsidies for child care. According to The New York Times, the Commerce Department is set to unveil new rules on Tuesday that will effectively force recipients of the new federal semiconductor subsidies to "guarantee affordable, high-quality child care for workers who build or operate a plant." The Times reports that the new rules will not specify how recipients use the funding, though it could include everything from "building company child-care centers near construction sites...

Downing Street insists the $40bn Tech Prosperity Deal between the US and UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled. The BBC reported on Tuesday evening that the prime minister’s office claimed that the UK remains in “active conversations with US counterparts at all levels of government” about the wide-ranging deal for the technology industries in both countries to cooperate. The agreement, previously billed as historic, was paused after the US accused the UK of failing to lower trade barriers, including a digital services tax on US tech companies and food safety rules that limit the export of some...

The United States trade deficit shrank dramatically in September, falling 10.9 percent to $52.8 billion as President Trump’s sweeping tariff policies began to reshape trade flows in line with the administration’s goals, according to data released Thursday by the Commerce Department.The deficit reduction reflected gains on both sides of the ledger. U.S. exports jumped 3.0 percent to $289.3 billion, the highest level in months, while imports rose just 0.6 percent to $342.1 billion. The combination produced the kind of outcome the Trump administration has sought: American goods finding stronger markets abroad even as the flow of foreign goods into the...

The trade deficit has narrowed to its smallest since mid-2020, down more than 35% over last year — and more proof that President Donald J. Trump’s America First trade agenda is working.Here’s what you need to know:U.S. exports are up 6% over last year — rising to their second-highest value on record — while Inflation-adjusted exports of consumer goods are the largest ever.The seasonally adjusted trade deficit with China has narrowed to its second-smallest since 2009.In the third quarter of 2025, real exports grew by a 4.1% annual rate and imports fell by around 5% — adding about 1% to...

October’s haul set a new monthly high as Treasury data showed soaring customs receipts under President Donald Trump’s tariff program.Tariff revenues surged to $31.4 billion in October, setting a new monthly record as the Trump administration’s trade policies continue to remake U.S. trade flows and reshape the federal government’s balance sheet, according to newly released Treasury Department data. The Monthly Treasury Statement for October, published on Nov. 25 , shows net customs duties totaling $31.4 billion, surpassing all prior monthly readings and marking the strongest single-month tariff haul since the modern reporting era began. Treasury records show gross customs receipts...

The view that the stock market is in a massive bubble and bound to crash is incorrect over the medium term Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/3af620bb-6d5e-4281-879d-c3193e225803?segmentId=b385c2ad-87ed-d8ff-aaec-0f8435cd42d9 After the so-called “liberation day” tariffs announcement, the conventional wisdom about the US economy became very pessimistic....

It was, by any measure, a lot of red ink. When Volkswagen announced its third-quarter profits at the end of October, the German auto giant said it anticipated heavy losses for this year. The reason? It is taking a 5 billion euro hit from tariffs imposed in the American market. Likewise, the German sportswear manufacturer Adidas warned of a 120 million euro hit to its earnings, in part because the levies its trainers now face in the United States, while Toyota warned of a $9 billion hit from tariffs. For anyone following the corporate earnings season over the last month,...

PULSE POINTS❓WHAT HAPPENED: A 150-year analysis challenges conventional wisdom on the impact of tariffs, suggesting they lower prices and raise unemployment, contrary to establishment economic models.👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Researchers Régis Barnichon and Aayush Singh from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco conducted the study.📍WHEN & WHERE: The study analyzed data from 1870 to 2020 across the U.S., the U.K., and France, with findings published in November 2025.💬KEY QUOTE: “We find that a tariff hike raises unemployment and lowers inflation,” the authors stated in their working paper.🎯IMPACT: The findings challenge establishment economic models and suggest tariffs may work through demand-side...

A sweeping new analysis of tariff policy spanning 150 years suggests that the economic establishment may have fundamentally misunderstood how tariffs affect prices and employment, a finding with profound implications for understanding President Donald Trump’s trade policy and the proper response by the Federal Reserve. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco examined major tariff changes from 1870 through 2020 across the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Their conclusion challenges the conventional wisdom that dominated economic policy debates in recent years: when countries raise tariffs, prices actually fall, not rise. “We find that a tariff hike...

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order allowing a range of food products, including coffee, bananas and beef, to escape his sweeping tariffs. The move comes as his administration faces mounting pressure over rising prices. While Trump previously downplayed concerns about the cost of living, he has focused on the issue since his Republican Party's poor performance in last week's elections. The dozens of products included on the White House's list of exemptions range from avocados and tomatoes to coconuts and mangoes. These goods, the Trump administration said on Friday, cannot be produced in sufficient quantities domestically. Trump...