News In Diaspora
BREAKING NEWS: United States House Votes to Retract Trump Tariffs on Canada
US House lawmakers voted Wednesday to reject Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, sweeping aside the president’s last-gasp threat of election consequences for Republicans to deliver a rare rebuke on his signature economic policy.
The measure brought by Democrats was approved 219-211, with six Republicans joining the effort.
It remains largely a symbolic move.
The House can consider measures to end the national emergencies Trump declared last year to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from various countries.
But any actions aimed at undoing Trump’s tariffs on Canada and other trading partners will still need US Senate passage and the president’s signature.
Even if it clears the Senate, it would face a certain veto by Trump, and Congress would unlikely muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
Trump sought to inject himself into the action at the last minute, issuing a direct political threat to lawmakers from his own Republican Party as the vote was taking place on the House floor.
“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
“TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege,” he added.
Wednesday’s rebuke comes after the expiration of a measure barring any vote on the issue of tariffs in the chamber — a move that has stifled opposition to Trump’s trade policy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally in Congress, sought to renew this prohibition on Tuesday but was unsuccessful, as three House Republicans voted alongside Democrats to block the move.
Earlier Wednesday, House Republican Don Bacon posted on social media that lawmakers “cannot & should not outsource our responsibilities.”
“As an old fashioned Conservative I know tariffs are a tax on American consumers,” he added, noting that debates and votes on the issue should occur in the House.
Canada — like other US trading partners — has been hit by various waves of Trump’s tariffs since he returned to office early last year, tapping emergency economic powers to justify the duties.
Broad exemptions for Canadian goods however have softened the blow.
Trump may have imposed a 35-percent tariff on many Canadian products last year, but he provided lower rates for energy imports and created sweeping exclusions for goods entering under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA).
Trump’s separate sector-specific tariffs — especially on autos, steel and aluminum — have hit Canada hard.
But overall, more than 85 percent of all bilateral trade has remained tariff-free under USMCA terms.
Trump’s country-specific tariffs, justified by emergency economic powers, have faced legal challenges too and the Supreme Court is due to rule on their legality in the near future.
While Trump has repeatedly touted tariffs as a positive development for the country, a Pew Research Center survey released this month indicated that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s higher tariffs.
News In Diaspora
Zelensky Is Ready For Direct Negotiations With Putin
President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his readiness for one-on-one talks with President Vladimir Putin to work out a permanent ceasefire to end the Ukraine war.
Zelensky reiterated the commitment on Wednesday at a press conference alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the first NATO-Ukraine Council meeting.
“I’m ready for direct negotiations with Putin to end this war,” he said in Kyiv. “Rather than wait while everybody finishes all the conflicts in the world.”
Zelensky noted that ballistic missiles are Russia’s “last argument” in the war, confirming his country has been responding with the American-made Patriot systems.
The leader insists the recent strikes by Ukraine were justified, as they were carried out in response to the Russian attacks on its territory.
“If they continue using drones and missiles against us, we will be doing the same,” Zelensky vowed. “But we respond exclusively against oil refineries or justified military targets.”
The President, however, hinted that the greatest threat Ukraine currently faces is Russia’s capability to produce up to 120 ballistic missiles per month.
Rutte praised Ukraine for its resilience, saying the nation has become so successful that Putin was only able to organize the May 9 parade with an official presidential decree by Zelensky.
Breaking News
Breaking News: Iran Warns Northern Israel Residents Over Possible Beirut Strike
Iran has warned residents in northern Israel to leave their homes if Israel follows through on its threat to attack Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The warning was issued by Iran’s central military command and reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.
According to the statement, the message was a response to an Israeli military evacuation order issued for Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut.
The commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said residents in northern Israel should evacuate in the event of an Israeli strike on the area, signalling a further escalation in tensions between the two sides.
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