Tariff wars continue over oil between the US and Canada
Canada’s largest oil producer warned it may shift exports away from the U.S. if Donald Trump’s tariff threats persist.
Cheddar
The Trump administration says it expects to finish paying over $670 million owed to foreign aid organizations for completed work Friday, but President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have not abandoned their fight to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Companies and nonprofits that work with USAID filed suit demanding the money and have accused the administration of repeatedly defying court orders to release foreign aid funds. The Justice Department, in a court filing this week, also said it anticipates payments owed to organizations not included in the litigation to be completed by April 29. The total owed to all organizations is close to $2 billion, the department said.
Another federal judge ruled Tuesday that efforts by the Trump administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to shutter USAID likely violated the Constitution. Judge Theodore D. Chuang issued a preliminary injunction blocking Musk and DOGE from taking various steps while he considers a final ruling.
The administration has accused the international aid program of fraud, inefficiency and failure to align spending with U.S. interests.
Authorities in New York City on Friday appeared poised to ignore the Trump administration-issued deadline for ending “congestion relief” tolls being collected in Lower Manhattan. The toll amount depends on the type of vehicle, time of day and the method of payment, and there are discounts and exemptions for certain drivers or vehicles. The program, which began in January, is designed to ease traffic congestion and pollution while raising funds for mass transit. The city has gone to court to save the program.
“This is not a test of wills,” MTA chief Janno Lieber said Tuesday. “The program, which has had such amazing benefits for New Yorkers, faster travel, cleaner air, fewer crashes, less honking, quieter, better environment for all, and also great economic benefits − all that is going to continue,”
Tariffs can apply to exports but are are primarily levied on imports, typically to protect industries in the country levying them. Tariffs make imports more expensive, thus making local goods cheaper by comparison. Tariffs also can provide income that can be used to support local industries, fund public programs or cover government expenditures.
And they can serve as bargaining tools to win concessions from trading partners.
“While tariffs may seem to penalize foreign producers by making their goods or services less competitive, the reality is that U.S. consumers and businesses ultimately bear the cost,” the Wilson Center scholars Diego Marroquín Bitar and Valeria Moy write in a “Tariffs 101” analysis.
Contributing: Reuters