Tariff changes floated. Trump yesterday threatened additional 50 percent tariffs on China if it does not cancel plans for 34 percent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods by today; Beijing responded threatening further countermeasures. Trump also announced the beginning of tariff negotiations with Japan. The European Union suggested a deal in which it would charge zero tariffs on industrial goods if the United States does the same, but Trump said it was not sufficient.
Chile’s lithium reserves. The country’s reserves of the mineral are 28 percent greater than previously estimated, its state mining firm said yesterday. Chile has the third-largest lithium reserves in the world, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and it is the world’s number-two producer. The government is currently expanding its role in lithium production.
Trump, Netanyahu comment on Gaza. Trump said alongside Netanyahu in the Oval Office yesterday that he would like the war in Gaza to “stop,” as he believed it would in the not “too-distant” future; Netanyahu said Israel was committed to getting hostages out of Gaza and eliminating Hamas. Trump reiterated his suggestion that Palestinians be removed from Gaza. Also yesterday, the heads of six UN agencies issued a joint statement calling for a cease-fire and noting that no aid had entered the territory since Israel started blocking it on March 2.
Algeria-Mali tensions. The countries canceled flights going back and forth amid a row over a Malian drone that Algeria shot down last week, claiming it was violating national airspace. Mali, which uses drones against rebels, disputed the claim, saying the wreckage was found several miles from its border. Mali and its allies Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew their ambassadors from Algeria, which responded by doing the same.
New space mission. One U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station after lifting off from Russia’s spaceport in Kazakhstan this morning. They are due to stay aboard for eight months and perform around fifty scientific experiments.
Supreme Court weighs deporations. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 to lift a ban on deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, but said that detainees must have a chance to present legal challenges to their removals. The ruling did not weigh in on the constitutionality of using the wartime powers law for removals, saying instead that the move had been challenged in the wrong court.
South Korea’s election date. The country will hold a new presidential election June 3 after a court removed impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol from office last week. Candidates are required to register by a May 11 deadline. The liberal rival party to Yoon’s conservatives currently holds a legislative majority and is seen as a strong presidential contender, though it has yet to officially name its candidate.
U.S. food aid cuts. Washington ended financial assistance to UN World Food Program (WFP) emergency operations that feed millions of people in extreme hunger, the organization said. Beneficiaries include people in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and eleven other countries. The WFP said it was urging continued funding from the United States, which had pledged to preserve life-saving assistance as it carried out other aid cuts. The U.S. State Department did not immediately comment.
