Free Republic

Faced with the threat of exorbitant US tariffs, Italian pasta producers are hoping for political support — and that they will not have to wait for a legal resolution to their case. In the global trade storm unleashed since US President Donald Trump’s return to power, Italian pasta producers are feeling very much alone. On 4 September, the US Department of Commerce announced preliminary tariffs of 91.74% on 13 pasta brands. If upheld, the tariffs would take effect in January 2026, delivering a significant blow to Italy, which exported nearly €700 million worth of pasta to the United States in...

The leader of Canada’s most populous province called for economic retaliation on the U.S. after auto company Stellantis said it was moving planned production of its Jeep Compass from Canada to the U.S. Ontario Premier Doug Ford blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for the company’s decision this week to shift production of the SUV from Brampton, Ontario, to Illinois as part of plan to invest $13 billion to expand its manufacturing capacity in the United States. The comments come as Canada is negotiating to reduce tariffs. Trump has been urging the Big 3 American automakers to move production to the...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would likely make the highly unusual move and head to the Supreme Court to watch arguments on the cases related to his tariffs. On November 5, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the president has the authority to impose his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Talking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump talked about how important the cases are to him. 'We have a big case coming up in the Supreme Court, and I will tell you, that’s one of the most important cases in the history of...

The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, surveyed 2,565 registered voters from Oct. 2-6, 2025, via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The poll found that 15% of registered voters cited price increases and inflation as their top issues, followed by government corruption (13%), the economy/jobs (11%), health care (9%), illegal immigration (8%), and crime/violence (7%). "Name anything that's getting less expensive," pollster Mike Noble told The Center Square. "Literally everything is going up from insurance premiums to you name it. More and more is coming out of pocket." Noble said polls across the...

“China’s stance is consistent,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement posted online. “We do not want a tariff war but we are not afraid of one.”China signaled Sunday that it would not back down in the face of a 100% tariff threat from US President Donald Trump, urging the US to resolve differences through negotiations instead of threats. “China’s stance is consistent,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement posted online. “We do not want a tariff war but we are not afraid of one.” The response came two days after Trump threatened to increase the tax...

Robotics has catapulted Beijing into a dominant position in many industries “It’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ford’s chief executive about his recent trip to China. After visiting a string of factories, Jim Farley was left astonished by the technical innovations being packed into Chinese cars – from self-driving software to facial recognition. “Their cost and the quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West,” Farley warned… “We are in a global competition with China, [and it’s not just EVs]. And if we lose this, we do not have a future...

For thousands of manufacturers across China, it’s déjà vu—with implications for the country’s fragile economy. Earlier this year, after President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% in April, American customers of Alan Chau’s toy factory in southern China abruptly froze orders, sparking a cash crunch ttohat brought his business to the brink. So it came as a relief when the U.S. and China reached a trade truce weeks later in mid-May, rolling back most of their tariffs on one another—and allowing Chau to resume shipping his products again. Now, less than six months later, prohibitively high tariffs could...

On Friday, President Trump made two posts on Truth Social in response to China’s announcement of stringent export controls on rare earth elements (REE) and related processing equipment. In the first post, he appeared to threaten to cancel his meeting with Xi at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea. More importantly, in his second post, he announced an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports in response to Beijing’s economic coercion, effective November 1 or earlier. If implemented, this would bring the total tariff rate for China to 130%.pic.twitter.com/5TcdNuNWv2— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 10, 2025pic.twitter.com/TtnPx2l2er— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47)...

Recent moves reflect commander in chief who has seemingly faced little resistance to his ambitious agendaPresident Trump began mass layoffs of federal workers. He threatened a dramatic increase in tariffs on China. And he flexed his control over the Justice Department once again, as his newly appointed U.S. attorney in eastern Virginia obtained an unusual indictment against the New York attorney general that Trump had demanded over the objections of career prosecutors.That was just in the past 48 hours. On Sunday, Trump heads to the Middle East to sign a deal he helped clinch to end the fighting in Gaza.All...

For many years now, many Americans have been muttering under our breath, “Why do we buy so much from China?” Whether we’re at a clothing store, a computer superstore or a big box discounter, the question is the same as we see that label on the box. The same goes for us in the business world, as we find ourselves forced to buy parts, components, even finished goods made in China, because they just aren’t available anywhere else. Not in the USA, not in Mexico, often nowhere on earth except China. It’s unacceptable, but sometimes, we’re stuck. So we elected...

Crypto prices tumbled amid investor concerns over economic stability and escalating trade disputes. Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two major cryptocurrencies, crashed after United States President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on 'any and all critical software' import goods from China. The continuing trade tensions between the two countries were significantly heightened by this move. According to Reuters, Bitcoin had dropped 8.4% to £78,000 ($104,782) as of 21:20 GMT. Ethereum also had a 5.8% decline, settling at £2,700 ($3,637). XRP, DOGE and Ada fell around 19%, 27%, and 25% in the last 24 hours, respectively, Bloomberg reported.…..

President Trump announced Friday he will raise tariffs on China in response to a move from Beijing to tighten its control over certain critical minerals and rare earth elements. Trump announced on Truth Social that he would impose a tariff of 100 percent on Chinese goods beginning Nov. 1 or sooner. Those tariffs will supersede existing duties already in place on Chinese goods. The president said his administration would also place export controls “on any and all critical software.” “It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,”...

The Supreme Court will likely agree with lower courts that ruled President Donald Trump can’t use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad tariffs, according experts surveyed by JPMorgan. Trade and legal experts said the odds that the high court will rule against the Trump administration are 70%-80% and expect a decision by the end of the year

Brick by brick, President Donald Trump is building a wall around the world’s largest economy. As America’s tariff barriers on everyone else have gone up, so has the drawbridge, making it harder for migrants to enter the country. The president wants to turn America into a fortress that keeps out foreign incursions. In fact, he is cutting America off from the very goods and talent that helped make its economy the envy of the world. Already the damage is starting to show; once wreaked, it will not easily be reversed. That is not how investors see it. In the six...

Washington — American farmers are having a tough year, in no small part because of President Donald Trump’s trade war. Now, the White House is gearing up to extend them a multi-billion-dollar bailout, sources tell CNN. Surging costs and foreign retaliation from tariffs have hurt the US agriculture industry — as have immigration-related labor shortages and plummeting commodity prices. Farm production expenses are estimated to reach $467.4 billion in 2025, according to the Agriculture Department, up $12 billion from last year. Farm bankruptcies rose in the first half of the year to the highest level since 2021, according to US...

The status quo is not going to cut it for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at his Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. With an unemployment rate of 7.1%, the highest level in nine years and half a percentage point higher since the start of this year, Canada’s economy is faltering. Steep tariffs Trump slapped on cars, steel and aluminum — key Canadian exports to the United States — are making matters worse. And Carney’s meeting is happening just as Trump is prepared to deal another blow to the Canadian economy: tariffs on softwood and lumber, among the...

MARYVILLE, Tenn.—Tucked in the foothills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains is a factory that has figured out a way to manufacture in America that’s cheaper, quicker and better. It’s the home of a famous American writing implement: the Sharpie marker.Pen barrels whirl along automated assembly lines that rapidly fill them with ink. At least half a billion Sharpie markers are churned out here every year, each one made of six parts. Only the felt tip is imported, from Japan. [snip] Newell began moving some Sharpie production to China in the 2000s, part of the wave of outsourcing by U.S. companies looking...

Conservative law professor William Jacobson of Cornell University, publisher of the Legal Insurrection blog, appeared on the Jesse Kelly show this week and outlined an upcoming Supreme Court case for Trump that he describes as ‘very high stakes.’ The case has to do with the Trump tariffs, and depending on how the court rules, it could have a significant effect on Trump’s economic policy. Jacobson suggests that it could be a very close call. Transcript via Legal Insurrection: Kelly (00:05): The Supreme Court is about to begin another term. I don’t understand these terms. I don’t understand what they’re doing...

In light of Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) announcement on Tuesday that it will offer its drugs at reduced prices to American consumers, President Trump is backing off his threat to impose 100% tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals to give other drugmakers timeto cut their own deals. A White House official told Politico that it is seeking deals with other large pharmas that would be similar to Pfizer's. On Tuesday, the president also announced the launch of TrumpRx , a direct-to-consumer website for consumers to find discounted drugs. The official alluded to comments made by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a press event announcing...

Companies could face probes into their compliance with the H-1B visa program as part of the Trump Administration’s effort to clamp down on the program and force companies to hire more Americans. The Department of Labor announced on Friday that it was launching Project Firewall, an “enforcement initiative” that will investigate employers for potential abuse of the H-1B visa process. The initiative may be the first time the federal government has sought to broadly enforce H-1B legal standards intended to protect both the H-1B employee and American workers, such as paying wages on par with other workers of similar qualifications...