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Trump threatens 25% tax on Mexican and Canadian products and 10% increase on Chinese goods. Plus, prosecutors drop Trump criminal charges for election interference as he prepares to retake the presidency
Good morning.
Donald Trump has said he will sign an immediate executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on China.
How much trade will this affect? Canada, Mexico and China account for about 40% of the goods the US imports each year, according to official statistics. Beijing said “nobody will win in a trade war”.
What’s behind Trump’s love of tariffs? Bill Ackman, the chief executive of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, said Trump is going to use tariffs as a foreign policy “weapon” to “achieve economic and political outcomes”.
What does this tell us about Trump’s legal strategy? Just how successfully Trump managed to navigate the justice system with an audacious play of using a presidential campaign and the political calendar to sidestep deeply perilous charges.

Tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods threaten not just those nations but global economic growth
European companies were wondering whether they had dodged a harmful blow to their US sales after on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods in social media posts late on Monday.
They could congratulate themselves for avoiding the incoming president’s gaze – so far – and watch as he turned his anger on Beijing and Washington’s nearest trading partners.

Three women – a manager, a worker and a farmer – tell their stories in this nuanced exploration of Ethiopia’s booming Chinese-led manufacturing sector
It’s win-win, says a Chinese businesswoman talking to a group of Ethiopian farmers protesting against the forced sale of their land to make way for new factories. She tells the farmers that their government will compensate them with new land – but months later, half of them are still waiting.
This quiet, sobering documentary explores the complexities of Chinese influence in Africa through the lives of three hard-working women. There’s Chinese factory boss Motto; Ethiopian worker Beti, who sews jeans with the “Made in Ethiopia” label; and Workinesh, a farmer and mother of five.

President-elect attacks neighbors over immigration and accuses China over fentanyl entering US
Donald Trump has said that he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products coming in to the United States from Mexico and Canada, and additional tariffs on China, once he becomes US president again.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump said in a on Truth Social.

US president-elect on Monday said his new administration would immediately impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico.

Thaw to continue despite points of contention over territory disputes in south-east Asia, Taiwan, China’s ties to Russia and human rights abuses
China’s top envoy in Australia has extended the olive branch to Peter Dutton’s Coalition, urging the major parties not to let “differences” between the two countries “hijack our cooperation”.
At a press briefing in Canberra on Tuesday, the ambassador, Xiao Qian, said Beijing was “happy” with the diplomatic stabilisation between Australia and China under Labor – but “not complacent”.

China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has praised the restoration of trade between both nations, saying it's helping to reduce cost-of-living pressures. He has also suggested Australia should do more to improve military ties with the People's Liberation Army.

Politics / The election showed what has been clear for some time: Chinese communities are becoming a new center of conservative power. Promise Li Last month, hundreds of immigrant Chinese residents ...

SCOTT KENNEDY is Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Washington’s array of tools is highly expansive: ...

The election showed what has been clear for some time: Chinese communities are becoming a new center of conservative power.

Bank of England’s Swati Dhingra says threatened 60% tariff could lead exporters to cut prices elsewhere
Donald Trump imposing massive US tariffs on Chinese imports could drag down global inflation by lowering the price of goods in other countries, a senior policymaker has said.
Swati Dhingra, an external member of the Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee, said Trump imposing a threatened sold in the US could lead Chinese exporters to cut their prices elsewhere to ensure they maintained current trade volumes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's nine-day trip to Peru and Brazil shows Beijing's growing profile while US awaits the coming of Trump 2.0 As Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the US$3.5 billion ...