Live updates: Trump says ‘Be cool’ as trade war escalates
by The Hill Staff
A trade war spurred by President Trump’s aggressive tariff agenda shows no signs of slowing down as markets reel from a rough couple of days.
China on Wednesday announced new 50 percent tariffs on U.S. exports after Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners took effect overnight.
On Capitol Hill, Trump’s top trade adviser, Jamieson Greer, is testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee after both sides of the aisle in the upper chamber pressed him over the administration’s tariff agenda Tuesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is also charging forward in an effort to bring the Senate-crafted budget resolution to the House floor on Wednesday.
But this may be easier said than done, as some in the GOP conference are digging their heels in over concerns about the level of spending cuts.
Read below for all the latest news.
1 of 1
6 minutes ago
Norman, Roy say they will vote to advance budget plan to House floor
Sophia Vento
GOP Reps. Ralph Norman (S.C.) and Chip Roy (Texas) said Wednesday that they will vote to advance the Senate-crafted budget plan from the lower chamber’s rules committee, but will not vote for it on the floor.
“I’m gonna vote for this to get it out of the Rules Committee,” Norman said. “I will not support this on the floor. It doesn’t make financial sense.”
9 minutes ago
Trump 'blowing it' on tariffs because he 'lacks empathy': Cenk Uygur
Sarah Fortinsky
Cenk Uygur, founder and host of “The Young Turks,” said President Trump is “blowing it” on his tariff messaging because he “lacks empathy” and has not leveled with the American public about the immediate financial pain they might feel in exchange for long-term pay off.
In an interview Tuesday on NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert,” Uygur said it’s interesting that, during the presidential campaign, Trump excelled on messaging, “But here he is, blowing it.”
15 minutes ago
Whitmer criticizes Trump’s use of ‘tariff hammer’
Julia Manchester
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) voiced agreement with some of President Trump’s trade policies during a speech from Washington on Wednesday, but warned against his use of sweeping tariffs.
“These last few days have been tough for Michigan,” Whitmer said, noting the state’s automobile industry and international border with Canada.
Read the full story here.
21 minutes ago
Bessent: China tariff retaliation ‘a loser for them’
Ashleigh Fields
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China’s Wednesday retaliation to the president’s trade measures will prove to be a poor choice.
“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world. And I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them,” Bessent said during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.
Read the full story here.
27 minutes ago
Dimon: Recession ‘likely outcome’ after Trump tariffs
Lauren Irwin
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he thinks a recession is the “likely outcome” of President Trump’s tariffs.
“Do you personally expect a recession,” Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo asked Dimon on Wednesday, the same day Trump’s reciprocal tariffs went into place on dozens of countries.
Read the full story here.
32 minutes ago
Warren: Companies will use tariffs as excuse for ‘price gouging'
Elizabeth Crisp
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) signaled she’s not only concerned by the sweeping tariffs President Trump ordered on imports from world trade partners, but also by the opportunity it creates for “price gouging.”
During a Wednesday appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” she weighed in on how businesses could react to the increased import taxes.
Read the full story here.
37 minutes ago
Bolton: Trump tariffs ‘huge opportunity for China worldwide’
Ashleigh Fields
Former national security adviser John Bolton suggested Tuesday that he doesn’t believe China will cut a deal with President Trump amid the back-and-forth tariff war.
Instead, the former Trump official said import tax increases will only push companies into the hands of Beijing.
Read the full story here.
42 minutes ago
EU hits back at Trump, US with tariffs on US goods
Tobias Burns
Member states of the European Union (E.U.) have agreed to tariffs on a range of U.S. products in response to President Trump’s sweeping new import taxes.
EU states voted Wednesday to “introduce trade countermeasures” against the U.S., the European Commission said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Steve Moore: ‘I’m going to side … with Musk’ in Navarro spat
Sarah Fortinsky
Steve Moore, President Trump’s former senior economic adviser, backed tech billionaire Elon Musk’s position in his public spat with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.
“I’m going to side, on this one, with Elon Musk,” Moore said Tuesday on CNN. “I mean, Elon Musk is right that, you know, tariffs are taxes. They can hurt the economy. We’ve got to have the most productive sector of the economy.”
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
O’Leary advocating for 400 percent tariffs on China
Lauren Irwin
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary said Tuesday that he is an advocate for placing 400 percent tariffs on China as the Trump administration ramps up its import taxes on the country.
O’Leary, appearing on CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” called on President Trump to increase the pressure on Beijing, even after Trump expanded tariffs on the nation to more than 100 percent and said he would not back down.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Democratic senators sound alarm over tariff impact on small business in letter to Commerce secretary
Aris Folley
Senate Democrats sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to call on the Trump administration to reverse its recent sweeping tariff actions, while raising alarm over the potential threats posed to small businesses.
In the recent letter, led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), a group of Democrats said the recent tariffs “are putting small businesses in an impossible position.”
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Schumer: Trump ‘going so overboard’ on tariffs
Lauren Irwin
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said President Trump is going “so overboard” on his tariff agenda.
Schumer joined CNN on Tuesday, just a day before Trump’s latest round of sweeping reciprocal tariffs went into effect on Wednesday. He was pushing for Congress to take action against the new trade policies as they spark instability at home and abroad.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Trump says ‘Be cool’ as trade war escalates
Brett Samuels
President Trump on Wednesday sought to project calm as the fallout from his aggressive tariffs on dozens of countries escalated and sparked retaliation.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Trump says ‘Be cool’ as trade war escalates
Brett Samuels
President Trump on Wednesday sought to project calm as the fallout from his aggressive tariffs on dozens of countries escalated and sparked retaliation.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Watch live: NASA nominee Jared Isaacman faces Senate confirmation hearing
Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, President Trump’s pick to lead NASA, will testify before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday morning.
Isaacman, who previously worked with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to test the company’s new spacesuits on the first private spacewalk. He helped fund the flight and was one of four people aboard.
Watch Isaacman testify here.
an hour ago
House Democrats warn Trump tariffs could devastate medical supply chains
Joseph Choi
With President Trump’s latest tariffs underway, a group of House Democrats are calling on the administration to try to protect medical supply chains from the “devastating consequences” the mounting trade war could inflict on patients.
Led by Democratic Reps. Doris Matsui (Calif.) and Brad Schneider (Ill.), 26 House Democrats signed a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warning that “reckless tariffs” are a threat to already fragile medical supply chains.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Trump tariffs, including massive levies on China, go into effect
Lauren Irwin
President Trump’s latest round of sweeping reciprocal tariffs went into effect early Wednesday, including a 104 percent import tax on China.
The tariffs, which Trump announced April 2, the day he dubbed “Liberation Day,” hit nearly all foreign trading partners with an import tax on products coming into the U.S. A baseline 10 percent tariff, also announced last week, were imposed over the weekend.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Watch live: US trade representative testifies before House on Trump trade agenda
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday morning on President Trump’s trade agenda, as the latest reciprocal tariffs took effect overnight.
The hearing is slated to start at 10 a.m. EDT
Watch live here.
2 hours ago
Trump: ‘Major’ pharmaceutical tariffs coming soon
Ashleigh Fields
President Trump said Tuesday his administration soon would announce “major” tariffs on pharmaceutical, adding to the tariffs he has already imposed on most goods entering the United States from abroad.
“We’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,” Trump said during a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Read the full story here.
2 hours ago
Mulvaney says he ‘would have fired’ Navarro during first Trump term
Lauren Irwin
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said he would have fired trade advisor Peter Navarro during President Trump’s first term.
Mulvaney joined CNBC amid Navarro’s ongoing spat with tech billionaire and close Trump ally Elon Musk over the president’s tariff agenda.
Read the full story here.
2 hours ago
Ackman: Many small businesses will go bankrupt if Trump doesn’t pause tariffs soon
Ashleigh Fields
Billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman suggested small businesses will be crippled by President Trump’s sweeping tariffs if a pause on global import taxes isn’t implemented by the administration.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman wrote Wednesday in a post on social platform X. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
Read the full story here.
2 hours ago
Wilbur Ross: Tariffs are ‘typical Trump’ high-risk, high-reward play
Brett Samuels
As the White House presses ahead with sweeping tariffs on dozens of nations that could upend the global economy, President Trump’s former Commerce secretary sees it as “typical Trump.”
“This is probably the most important decision that he will make during his whole next term,” Wilbur Ross, who served as Commerce secretary for the entirety of Trump’s first term, told The Hill in an interview.
Read the full story here.
2 hours ago
Trump trade war intensifies as China fires back, futures plunge
Ian Swanson
Lauren Irwin
China on Wednesday announced a new 50 percent tariff on U.S. exports, intensifying a trade war initiated by President Trump that is showing no signs of slowing down as it causes economic chaos around the world.
“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the U.S. China will never accept this,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said. “If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.”
Read the full story here.
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