Senior State Department officials have drawn up plans to close a dozen consulates overseas by this summer and are considering shutting down many more missions, in what could be a blow to the U.S. government’s efforts to build partnerships and gather intelligence, American officials say. The department also plans to lay off many local citizens…
When the White House finally released the text of Mr. Trump’s orders on Thursday evening, it appeared that some of the tariffs — those covered in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that Mr. Trump negotiated and celebrated in his first term — were indeed permanently suspended. Other tariffs were merely paused. Most everyone involved was confused,…
When the United States signed a free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico more than 30 years ago, the premise was that partnering with two other thriving economies would also benefit America. This week, President Trump abruptly scrapped that idea. He imposed a sweeping 25 percent tariff on Tuesday on the roughly $1 trillion of imports…
Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials are planning to meet next week to discuss the first steps of a deal that could seek an end to the war in Ukraine, after a week of U.S. moves casting doubt on its support for the country. Both President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine confirmed the meeting,…
When President Trump got on a phone call with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico on Thursday morning, he was firm: The tariffs were inescapable. “The tariffs stay,” Ms. Sheinbaum quoted Mr. Trump as saying, recounting the conversation at a news conference hours later. But the Mexican president pressed her case. She sent Mr. Trump a…
European leaders held talks on Ukraine and defense At a meeting in Brussels yesterday, leaders of the E.U.’s 27 countries discussed how to bolster both the continent’s defenses and its support for Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, called it a “watershed moment.” The goal for Europe is to better…
The Trump administration has moved to rewrite rules designed to prevent disasters at thousands of chemical facilities across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion in federal court on Thursday pulling back the safety regulations, introduced last year under former president Joe Biden. The rules, which took effect in May, require sites that…
President Trump said on Thursday that he would allow Mexico to avoid tariffs on most exports to the United States for one month, saying he would exempt products that are traded under the rules of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade pact he signed in his first term. The move came a day after he granted…
Three gunshots rang out as an honor guard fired into the air over the snow-covered cemetery. Soldiers lifted a Ukrainian flag from a coffin and handed it to family members. Then a trumpet, accompanied by a drum, bid farewell to the fallen soldier. After playing a Ukrainian version of taps, the two musicians from the…
Nigel Farage’s insurgent Reform U.K. party has attracted more than a dozen donors from Britain’s once dominant Conservative Party, an analysis of new data reveals, underlining the threat the Tories face from a right-wing populist party that models itself on President Trump’s MAGA movement. In total, Reform U.K. raised 4.75 million pounds ($6.1 million) last…
