AFP USA

President Donald Trump will tout radical plans to reshape the US government and end the Ukraine war Tuesday as he addresses Congress for the first time since his blistering return to power six weeks ago.Trump’s theme will be the “renewal of the American dream” but it promises to be a divisive evening, with the high-octane start to his second term causing huge upheaval at home and abroad.The Republican is expected to set out what he views as his key achievements, including a record blitz of executive orders and an assault on the federal bureaucracy led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.Space X and Tesla tycoon Musk will be at the US Capitol to watch the speech, which is to begin at 9.00pm (0200 GMT Wednesday).Trump will also set out his vision on the economy — even as the trade war he launched against Canada, China and Mexico roils world markets and threatens to raise prices at home.Despite a bitter row in the Oval Office with Ukraine’s leader just days ago and a pivot to Moscow that has stunned allies, Trump will then lay out his plans to end the grueling three-year conflict.”He’s going to dive into foreign policy, talk about his intention to end the war in Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday.Trump had said on Monday that he would “let you know” during the speech about the fate of a minerals deal with Ukraine that remains unsigned after Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous visit.Leavitt said Trump would also discuss his “plan to bring all the hostages out of Gaza” — the Palestinian territory he has proposed that the United States should take over, sparking outrage across the Middle East.The US president will finally ask Congress for funds to support his plan for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, some of whom his administration has already dispatched to Guantanamo Bay.Trump said the address “will be big” and promised to “tell it like it is,” in a post on his Truth Social network on Monday.- ‘Big day’ -It will mark a triumphant comeback to the Capitol for Trump, just four years after he left office in disgrace after his supporters stormed the building in protest at his 2020 election loss.Trump returns as the most powerful Republican president in decades, with the popular vote behind him and a Republican-controlled House and Senate doing his bidding.The 78-year-old also appears to be determined to test the limits of presidential power — in the face of Congress and the courts if necessary — referring to himself on occasion as a “king” and musing about a constitutionally-barred third term.Aided by Musk, Trump has pushed through an unprecedented blitz on the federal bureaucracy that has led to thousands of job cuts, the closure of entire agencies and the decimation of foreign aid.Republicans have welcomed Trump’s rapid start to his new term and have thrown up few roadblocks. They rapidly confirmed a number of cabinet members including vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Democrats have so far struggled to counter Trump’s “flood the zone” strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant press conferences.But the speech promises to be rowdy, with Democratic lawmakers bringing as guests a number of federal workers targeted by Musk’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE).The Democratic rebuttal to Trump’s address will be provided by new Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin, a 48-year-old former CIA analyst and rising star in the party.Republicans are expected to cheer Trump on loudly, while the president and First Lady Melania Trump will invite guests who reflect his speech’s priorities.”We’re so excited — it’s a big day and it’s a big night for President Trump and we know he’s going to give a fantastic speech,” Leavitt said.

Stuck in a queue at the Mexican-US border, truck driver Juan Diego Mendoza said he was worried about the fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but believed Mexicans were resilient enough to cope.”We’re economically strong and self-sufficient. Unlike them, we’re not looking for the car of the year or the best cut of meat. We’re happy with a plate of beans and an egg,” the 31-year-old told AFP.Mendoza woke earlier than usual to hear Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s response to Trump’s 25-percent tariff.He supported her decision to wait until Sunday before laying out retaliatory measures, while leaving the door wide open for dialogue.”The president is handling it intelligently, without getting excited or letting herself be provoked by the arrogance of Trump, who thinks he owns the world,” Mendoza said, at a crossing between Tijuana and San Diego.The tariff “will have an impact, but we will endure,” he said, warming up the engine of the truck in which he brings meat from the United States to Mexico.Mendoza is already feeling the impact of the trade tensions, which Trump has linked to drug trafficking and illegal migration.Due to increased security ordered by Sheinbaum, he and thousands of other truck drivers take up to five hours to cross the border, where vehicles undergo X-rays for contraband.- Longer waiting times -Sheinbaum announced the deployment of 10,000 more troops to the frontier in February in exchange for Trump delaying tariffs.But the pause expired on Tuesday, and longer waiting times due to increased security at the border have led to fewer trips and reduced profits for some haulage companies.Even before tariffs took effect, 28-year-old truck driver Angel Cervantes said he was feeling the squeeze from duties Trump imposed on China.There was less work available because many companies in Tijuana export Chinese brand goods, he said, adding that his company lost one client who sold air conditioners.Cervantes said his income had dropped from about $800 a week to $600, making it harder to support his wife and two children.But he was confident that Mexico’s free trade agreement with the United States and Canada would survive.Truck driver Jonathan Figueroa, 26, said that he lost his previous job when a big client of his former employer decided to move its solar panel plant from Mexico to the United States.”My boss had told me that if Donald Trump won the presidency, the company we supplied would be taken to New Mexico. And so it was,” said the 26-year-old, who was unemployed for four months.As well as truckers, the tariffs have triggered unease among the many workers in the factories in Mexico’s industrial border zones.After finishing her 12-hour shift at a car speaker plant, Maria Virginia Gutierrez admitted that she was worried, especially since the factory passed from American hands to a Chinese investor at the start of the year. Although many in Tijuana fear tariffs will bring pain, there is also a sense that Mexico must maintain its pride and self-respect in the face of Trump’s threats. “We have to defend ourselves,” Mendoza said.

In the Canadian city of Windsor, which survives on the cross-border auto industry, the start of a trade war with the United States has opened a period of fear and uncertainty.Windsor is separated from Detroit, Michigan by a river, and American automakers based in the US city have been an essential employer on the Canadian side for decades. “The value of what we have around us is based on the automotive industry. So if it were to collapse, that will collapse with it,” Robert Pikata, a 60-year-old who works for Windsor’s municipal government, told AFP.Like many Windsor residents, Pikata has been following the news closely in recent weeks. Many had hoped that President Donald Trump would ultimately back away from tariffs that Ford’s CEO Jim Farley warned would “blow a hole” in the auto industry. But Trump made good on his threat on Tuesday, imposing a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods. Canada immediately retaliated, triggering a trade war between historically close allies and threatening future commerce across a border that sees billions of dollars in daily trade.Addressing Canadians on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned of “tough” days ahead. Pikata said economic conflict with the United States will see living standards in Windsor fall. He told AFP he was “disappointed and scared at the same time because of the unknown.” “How is it going to affect me personally and how is it going to affect my family?”Jessica Dame, a 33-year-old healthcare worker, said businesses across Windsor rely on the US.”You’re literally breaking relationships,” she said, addressing Trump. “I think we’re gonna see a huge decline in local economies.”- ‘Shocked, not surprised’ -Trump’s justifications for launching a trade war with Canada have shifted. His administration has said the levies are designed to force Canada to act on the flow of undocumented migrants and the drug fentanyl across the border. Trudeau has maintained that Canada is not a significant contributor to either problem in the United States, and on Tuesday called Trump’s fentanyl justification “completely false.”Trump has also mused about tariffs as a corrective to the US trade deficit with Canada and falsely claimed that Canada prevents American banks from operating in the country.The president said this week that auto companies that want to avoid the consequences of tariffs should open plants in the United States. “Every time I hear (Trump) say something, I always find it’s like 50-50 about whether it’s actually true or not,” university student Zach Puget told AFP in Windsor. Voicing concern that the trade war would force grocery prices higher, Puget said he was “shocked, but not surprised” that the measures had come into force. In his address to Canadians, Trudeau offered a stark warning about Trump’s motivation. He said the US president, who has spoken often of making Canada the 51st American state, “wants to see a collapse of the Canadian economy because that would make it easier to annex us.””That is never going to happen,” Trudeau asserted. “We will never be the 51st state.”

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, stranded on the International Space Station since June, said Tuesday he believes Elon Musk’s claim that the billionaire proposed an early rescue plan, but it was ultimately rejected by then-President Joe Biden.Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams were originally scheduled for an eight-day mission, but their return was complicated when the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing was deemed unsafe for the journey home.Their prolonged stay has recently become a point of contention, with Musk and President Donald Trump accusing Biden’s administration of abandoning the pair to avoid making Musk look like a savior.”I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual,” said Wilmore, a former Navy test pilot. He admitted he wasn’t privy to the ins and outs of the drama, but added, “I believe him. I don’t know all those details.”Musk recently clashed online with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who accused him of lying in a Fox News interview when he claimed the astronauts were abandoned for “political reasons.”Mogensen pointed out that, since the Boeing Starliner was deemed unsafe for return with people aboard, NASA had planned for months to bring Wilmore and Williams back on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September with two spare seats.No alternative plan has been publicly discussed, and Crew-9’s return has been delayed by SpaceX itself due to setbacks in preparing the Dragon spacecraft for Crew-10, now scheduled for launch on March 12.Interrupting the standard crew rotation would also be a deviation from protocol, and extended astronaut stays are not unprecedented. In 2023, Frank Rubio became the first NASA astronaut to spend over a year in space after a meteoroid damaged the Russian Soyuz spacecraft he rode up on.Similarly, after the Columbia disaster in 2003, when a shuttle disintegrated during re-entry, NASA suspended flights for two years, forcing astronauts to rely on Soyuz and extend their missions.Musk’s response to Mogensen included a slur for people with intellectual disabilities, sparking backlash from the space community. Former NASA astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly defended Mogensen and criticized the SpaceX founder.”Obviously, we’ve heard some of these different things that have been said,” Wilmore commented. “We have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk, and obviously respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump. We appreciate them… and we’re thankful that they are in the positions they’re in.”Wilmore’s remarks come just days after acting NASA administrator Janet Petro raised eyebrows by stating the agency aimed to put “America first,” echoing Trump’s political slogan.”We’re going to be putting America first, we’re making America proud, we’re doing this for the US citizens,” she said before a private Moon lander touched down on Sunday — a notable shift from NASA’s longstanding stance that its space achievements were “for all mankind.”

Shares of Tesla tumbled Tuesday following data showing a big drop in auto sales in China, adding to recent losses amid backlash to CEO Elon Musk’s alliance with US President Donald Trump.The electric auto maker sold 30,688 vehicles in China in February, down 49 percent from the year-ago period, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.Near 1840 GMT, Tesla shares were down 4.4 percent.Tesla has lost more than one third of its market value since mid-December as Musk has deepened his association with the polarizing US leader.Musk, who is the driving force behind the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is seeking to slash through the US budget, reportedly will attend Trump’s address before Congress Tuesday night.Musk has been excoriated among congressional Democrats for his role in cutting government jobs. He has also been criticized for endorsing far-right political figures in Germany and for making a hand gesture at Trump’s inauguration that resembled a Nazi salute.

The US Supreme Court appeared poised on Tuesday to toss out a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico accusing American gun manufacturers of fueling drug trafficking and violence.Smith & Wesson and US gun distributor Interstate Arms are seeking dismissal of the Mexican government’s suit, which has been winding its way through US courts since 2021.Mexico, which is under mounting pressure from US President Donald Trump to curb drug trafficking, accuses the firearms makers of “aiding and abetting” illegal gun sales because they allegedly know that some of their products are being unlawfully sold to the drug cartels.A federal judge tossed out the case in 2022 saying Mexico’s claims failed to overcome the extensive protections offered by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which was passed by Congress in 2005 and shields US gunmakers from liability for criminals misusing their products.An appeals court revived the case citing an exception to the law, and Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms sought relief from the Supreme Court. A majority of the justices on the conservative-dominated top US court appeared to side with the firearms companies during 90 minutes of oral arguments.Noel Francisco, representing Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms, said gun companies cannot be held accountable for the misuse of their products.”If Mexico is right, then every law enforcement organization in America has missed the largest criminal conspiracy in history, operating right under their nose,” Francisco said.”And Budweiser is liable for every accident caused by underage drinkers since it knows that teenagers will buy beer, drive drunk and crash.”Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, appeared sympathetic to this argument, questioning what consequences an expanded theory of aiding and abetting liability would have for the American economy.”That’s a real concern,” Kavanaugh said. “Lots of sellers and manufacturers of ordinary products know that they’re going to be misused by some subset of people.”Justice Samuel Alito, also a conservative, raised what he said was a “question that may be on the minds of ordinary Americans.””Mexico says that US gun manufacturers are contributing to illegal conduct in Mexico,” Alito said. “There are Americans who think that Mexican government officials are contributing to a lot of illegal conduct here.”- ‘Rogue dealers’ -Catherine Stetson, representing the Mexican government, was careful to steer the arguments away from any discussion of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects the rights of Americans to keep and bear arms.”Mexico is not trying to legislate gun use in the United States,” Stetson said.She said up to 600,000 US guns are illegally trafficked into Mexico every year and the “manufacturers know that they are selling a dangerous product to specific rogue dealers who are selling to straw purchasers for the cartels.”Some gun companies are even “designing certain guns to target the Mexican market,” she said, giving them Spanish names such as the Colt Super “El Jefe.”Francisco pushed back.”The notion that selling a Spanish-named firearm is what gives rise to joint purpose with cartels under the aiding and abetting statute is as wrong as it is offensive,” he said.The Mexican government maintains that 70-90 percent of the weapons recovered at crime scenes in Mexico have been trafficked from the United States.Mexico tightly controls firearms sales, making them practically impossible to obtain legally.Even so, drug-related violence has seen around 480,000 people killed in Mexico since the government deployed the army to combat trafficking in 2006, according to official figures.The case comes against a backdrop of rising US-Mexico trade tensions.Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico on Tuesday, citing a lack of progress in stemming the flow of drugs such as fentanyl into the United States.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed to hit back with retaliatory duties.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday launched a stunning attack on Donald Trump’s “dumb” trade war, sparking further threats of retaliation from the US president after huge tariffs kicked in against Canada, Mexico and China.A furious Trudeau accused Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canada’s economy to make it easier for the United States to annex his country, and blasted Washington for targeting a close ally while “appeasing” Russia over Ukraine.Fears that the tariff spat is rapidly devolving into the most brutal trade war of modern times sent global markets lower, with the S&P 500 — a major Wall Street index — extending recent losses to erase all of its gains since Trump’s US election victory in November. Trump had announced — and then paused — blanket 25 percent tariffs on imports from major trading partners Canada and Mexico in February, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking.But he pushed ahead with them Tuesday, citing a lack of progress on both fronts. And after Canada retaliated, Trump quickly threatened to hit it again, mocking Trudeau’s position as the country’s premier.”Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, referring to the Canadian leader with the title used for heads of US states.The sweeping duties will hit US imports from both US neighbors, affecting everything from avocados to the lumber crucial for building US homes, and hampering supply chains for key sectors like automobiles.Trump also inked an order Monday to increase a previously imposed 10 percent tariff on China to 20 percent — piling atop existing levies on various Chinese goods.Beijing condemned the “unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US,” filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization and threatening to impose 10 and 15 percent levies on a range of agricultural imports from the United States. – Pushing up prices -Analysts and businesses have warned that the higher import costs could push up prices for consumers — which could complicate efforts to bring down inflation, one of the issues that got Trump elected.That includes at grocery stores — Mexico supplied 63 percent of US vegetable imports and nearly half of US fruit and nut imports in 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture.Brian Cornell, the chief executive of the US retail giant Target, said Tuesday that the company could be forced to raise the cost of some fruits and vegetables over the next couple of days.”If there’s a 25 percent tariff, those prices will go up,” he told CNBC. “The giant wildcard here, obviously, is how the consumers are going to react to the price increases,” Matthew Bilunas, the chief financial officer at US electronics retailer Best Buy, told investors during a conference call on Tuesday. Housing costs could also be hit. More than 70 percent of imports of two key materials homebuilders need — softwood lumber and gypsum — come from Canada and Mexico, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Truck drivers at the Otay Mesa border crossing in Mexico told AFP they were already feeling the impact as they waited to cross into the United States early Tuesday.- Fight to ‘the bitter end’ -Ottawa’s retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on $30 billion of goods went into effect early Tuesday, and Trudeau said that they would expand to “the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days time.””Canadians are reasonable. We are polite. We will not back down from a fight,” he said.Addressing the US president directly, Trudeau said that while he thinks Trump is a “smart guy,” the tariffs are a “very dumb thing to do.”China said its tariffs against the United States will come into effect next week and will impact tens of billions of dollars in imports, from soybeans to chickens.Beijing also announced that imports of US lumber have been suspended, and that soybean shipments from three American exporters have been halted, as country’s foreign ministry vowed to fight the US trade war to the “bitter end.”burs-da/bfm

US Vice President JD Vance insisted Tuesday he was not targeting France and Britain with remarks he made dismissing the military abilities of countries supporting a possible European peacekeeping force in Ukraine.European nations are looking at ways to support an eventual peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, with Britain and France saying they would be willing to deploy ground troops.Vance responded Monday in a Fox News interview by mocking the prospect of sending “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”After his remarks drew an angry response from politicians in London and Paris, Vance posted on X that the pushback against his comments was “absurdly dishonest.””I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” Vance said.But he went on to question the underlying idea of an Anglo-French “coalition of the willing” to police any ceasefire in Ukraine.”There are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful,” he said.Vance later appeared to further row back his comments when speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill.”Obviously — and we appreciate this — the British and the French have offered to step up in a big way, that’s very, very important,” Vance said when asked about whether European peacekeepers could realistically be part of the solution.French and British troops both served alongside US soldiers in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. British soldiers also joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.Vance has positioned himself as President Donald Trump’s foreign policy attack dog in recent days, particularly when it comes to Europe.He stunned European leaders at the Munich Security Conference last month when he made a speech seen as a combative broadside against the continent and Germany in particular, accusing them of limiting free speech and excluding parties voicing strong concerns on immigration.Vance then confronted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday during a visit to the White House on the free speech issue, before doubling down on the comments the next day.And last Friday the vice president was the first to raise his voice against Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office that left allies reeling.After Trump suspended US support for Kyiv against Russia, Zelensky said on Tuesday that the row was “regrettable” and that he wanted to “make things right” with the United States.Trump, who has been accused of sidelining both Kyiv and European allies as he moves to negotiate directly with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, has so far refused to involve the United States in the peacekeeping operation suggested by France and the United Kingdom.

Donald Trump will tout his high-octane start to his second term in an address to Congress Tuesday, in the face of a nation roiled by his aggressive extension of presidential power and a world unsettled by his shifts on Ukraine and tariffs.The White House said the theme of Trump’s televised speech at 9:00 pm (0200 GMT Wednesday) will be “the renewal of the American dream” — but it promises to be a rowdy and divisive evening inside the US Capitol.Democratic lawmakers will bring federal workers targeted by the blizzard of cuts to the US bureaucracy made by Trump’s advisor Elon Musk — the world’s richest person — and his Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE).Republicans are however expected to cheer Trump on loudly while the president and First Lady Melania Trump will invite guests who reflect his speech’s priorities on the economy and migration.Trump said the address “will be big” and promised to “tell it like it is,” in a post on his Truth Social network on Monday.”We’re so excited — it’s a big day and it’s a big night for President Trump and we know he’s going to give a fantastic speech,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday.She said the speech would cover his accomplishments in his first term, his plans for the economy, a push for Congress to pass border funding, and “dive into foreign policy” on Ukraine and Gaza.The final section will be closely watched given the fresh global turmoil triggered by Trump’s actions in the last 24 hours as he pursues his “America First” policy.Tariffs on US allies Mexico and Canada and rival China came into effect on Tuesday, while Trump halted aid to Ukraine on the eve of the speech after a blazing Oval Office row with President Volodymyr Zelensky.Trump’s pivot towards Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war has particularly alarmed US allies.- ‘Unprecedented achievements’ -On the home front Trump is expected to play up the record blitz of executive orders he has signed in his first six weeks back in the White House.Abetted by Musk, who will attend the speech, Trump has moved to unilaterally dismantle federal agencies and fired thousands of government workers. He has also ended diversity programs and begun holding undocumented migrants at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as part of his crackdown on foreigners without papers.The speech will be Trump’s first to both houses of Congress for five years, and also his first since his supporters stormed the building following his 2020 election defeat.But this time he will be making a triumphant appearance in front of a fully Republican-controlled Congress.”It’s an opportunity for President Trump, as only he can, to lay out the last month of record-setting, record-breaking unprecedented achievements and accomplishments that have made this the most successful opening to any presidency,” his Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters on Monday.Trump is also determined this time around to exert more power than any president in decades, which at times could put him on a collision course with Congress and the US courts. Democrats have so far however struggled to counter Trump’s “flood the zone” strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant Oval Office news conferences.But with his poll numbers softening, Trump will also know he faces pressure to deal with stubborn issues facing Americans — most importantly inflation.Trump’s tariffs also threaten to weigh on the economy, with stock markets sliding around the world as his tariffs took effect.