2 days Ago
Trump says he's attending a meeting with Japanese officials to negotiate tariffs today President Donald Trump said he is personally attending a meeting at the White House with Japanese officials to negotiate tariffs alongside his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In addition to tariffs, Trump said they will be negotiating the “cost of military support” and what he called “TRADE FAIRNESS.” “Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!” Trump said on Truth Social this morning.
Remember: It comes as the Trump administration is working on negotiating “tailored” trade deals with several dozen countries, after Trump initiated a 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs and instituted a universal 10% rate in the meantime. Japanese carmaker Honda will shift some production to the US partly due to tariffs Japanese carmaker Honda will shift production of one of its models from Japan to the United States. Honda plans to manufacture its US-bound five-door Civic hybrid in Indiana, a spokesperson told CNN today.
Production of the model in the Yorii factory in the Saitama prefecture, near Tokyo, is expected to end in June or July, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the move has not been prompted only by the Trump administration’s decision to slap a 25% tariff on imports of cars and car parts into America — and that Honda has long had a policy of manufacturing in locations where there is demand. Americans raced to shop before tariffs hit, but economists say the boost likely won't last Americans rushing to buy goods ahead of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs likely gave March retail sales a boost.
But economists warn that strength will probably fade as tariffs eventually fuel price increases. The Commerce Department is set to release March retail spending data at 8:30 a.m.
ET today, a potential glimpse into how Americans are reacting to the barrage of news on tariffs and other economic measures. Consumer spending powers the vast majority of the US economy, and retail sales make up about a third of that. Americans probably raced to the stores in March, especially for big-ticket items that could see big price jumps because of Trump’s import taxes, economists said.
And that could happen again in April. But those kinds of brief buying sprints make it harder to understand the financial situation of many Americans. This, in turn, makes it harder for economic stewards, such as the Federal Reserve, to plan their next move.
“In the near term, we could have some really strong consumer spending numbers, but that just makes things a little bit tricky for the Fed,” James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, told CNN. “That means that the Fed just sits and waits to see what happens.” Economists polled by FactSet estimate that retail sales spiked 1.
3% in March from the prior month, which would be the strongest monthly gain since January 2023. The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation. Here's the latest on Trump's immigration crackdown A federal judge said yesterday that there is no evidence that the Trump administration is complying with her ruling to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Both El Salvador’s president and the White House have made it clear they will not return Abrego Garcia. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said he will travel to El Salvador today as he pushes for the return of Abrego Garcia, who is his constituent.
Here’s the latest on the administration’s deportation push: Tense hearing: US District Judge Paula Xinis rejected the Trump administration’s argument that her directive requiring the government to “facilitate” the release of a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador only means “removing domestic obstacles.” She said she would issue a written order that “expands on my definition of the word facilitate” and allow for expedited discovery into whether the administration is complying with the order. White House doubles down: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt continued to call Abrego Garcia a “foreign terrorist” despite the administration conceding in court documents that he was mistakenly deported.
She also did not provide any evidence for her claims that he was a member of the MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have disputed those claims. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said that even if he came back to the US, he would just be “detained and removed again.
” Deporting US citizens: President Donald Trump told Fox Noticias that he “would love” to deport American criminals to a Salvadoran mega-prison. Leavitt said Trump is exploring the legality of potentially sending the most “violent” and “egregious” US criminals to the prison. Salvadoran immigrant convicted: Trump called the man convicted of murdering Rachel Morin , a mother of five from Maryland, an “illegal criminal” and “a monster.
” During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly mentioned the case and also met with Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin. Southern border: The administration plans to expand the “ new national defense area ” along the US-Mexico border by 90 miles. The move is aimed at securing the border.
The additional area will be added in Texas..
