“Slovakia has a population of just 5.4 million, yet it is one of Europe’s leading car manufacturers, heavily reliant on auto production and exports to the U.S. Home to five major car manufacturers and more than 350 local suppliers, Slovakia is not only the second-largest E.U. exporter of vehicles to the U.S., but also the biggest car producer per capita in the world.
Slovakia manufactures and exports higher-end SUVs from brands like Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, Range Rover, and—starting in 2026—Volvo. With SUVs accounting for 46 percent of total annual auto sales in the U.S., the tariffs are likely to hurt models that are especially popular among American consumers.
According to the National Bank of Slovakia, the Slovak economy “would decrease cumulatively by nearly 3 percent” due to the new tariffs, and “would also mean the loss of 20,000 jobs.” The bank projects that Slovakia’s economy will “suffer the most in 2026, when its growth would barely stay above zero” and that by 2027, the automotive tariffs alone could reduce gross domestic product by 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points. The bank’s governor referred to the prospects of a 25 percent car tariff impact as a “small Armageddon.””
“Take Egypt: In 2016, facing fiscal pressure and public dissatisfaction, the government raised tariffs on hundreds of imported goods—everything from electronics to household furniture. The stated goal was to protect domestic industries and reduce reliance on foreign goods. The outcome? Inflation soared, local industries remained stagnant, and Egyptian consumers were left paying more for lower-quality products. The government hoped tariffs would nurture innovation; instead, they strangled competition and punished ordinary people.
In Iraq, where the state has tried to rebuild its shattered economy after years of conflict, officials implemented tariffs to supposedly boost “national production” and replenish government coffers. But in a country where corruption runs deep and borders are porous, the policy only incentivized smuggling and rent seeking. Goods flowed illegally across borders while customs officials took their cut. Meanwhile, consumers bore the cost, and genuine economic growth never came. Tariffs there didn’t protect industries—they protected the corrupt.”
Tariffs are a bad policy based on a misunderstanding of economics. Even if you have a protectionist mindset, Trump’s tariffs make no sense because they don’t focus on tariffs goods that we could produce and provide our consumers; they focus on inputs to things we want to produce like steel, aluminum, and autoparts. Many more people use steel and aluminum that produce it. This makes tariffs bad before we even consider retaliatory tariffs from other countries.
The uncertainty of what tariffs will look like prevents businesses from investing and consumers from making large decisions, causing further damage.
One of America’s powers is taking smart people from other countries and using their energies and insights. Trump is dampening that power.
“Kseniia Petrova’s path from a Harvard laboratory to an immigration cell began with frogs.
The Russian national who has been working as a researcher at Harvard Medical School failed to declare “non-hazardous” frog embryos she was carrying with her on her return to the US from France in February, Petrova’s attorney said. Rather than issue a fine, Petrova’s exchange visitor visa was revoked, and she was taken into custody.
Revoking Petrova’s visa was “a punishment grossly disproportionate to the situation,” her attorney, Greg Romanovsky, said, calling the error on the customs form “inadvertant.””
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“an increasing number of student deportation threats involve the revocation of visas based on relatively minor offenses like years-old misdemeanors, according to immigration attorneys, or sometimes no reason at all.”
“”The trade war is now turning into a direct confrontation between the US and China … we could again be seeing escalation and de-escalation at the same time, pulling markets in different directions,” Rabobank analysts said.
And though a wider trade war is on hiatus, risks remain to the health of the US economy, and Trump’s move is “merely the end of the beginning,” according to JPMorgan.
Other parts of the president’s trade-policy overhaul are still in effect, including a 10% baseline tariff on most trading partners, 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports, and 25% duties on auto imports. Those elements could still lead to consequences analysts have warned about, such as rising prices and slower economic growth.”
“U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.”
“Amid recent travel advisories warning those coming to the U.S. plus strengthened immigration enforcement, many international travelers are starting to turn away from the U.S. as a destination. Between January and March 2025, foreign arrivals dropped by around 4.4% from those first three months last year, according to data from the National Travel and Tourism Office. In a March year-over-year comparison, that reduction doubles to almost 10%.”
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“Some fear for their safety over what could happen when trying to enter the nation’s borders. Others are angered at recent policies, like the trade wars, and rhetoric, refusing to spend their dollars in the U.S. A decline in overseas visitors could have significant long-term consequences for the economy, with travel and tourism one of the country’s leading industries, contributing 2.5% to the GDP”
“The Trump administration is canceling funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the entity that produces the federal government’s signature climate change study, according to three federal officials familiar with the move.
The move, which had been widely expected, is a potentially fatal blow to the National Climate Assessment, the study that Congress mandated under the Global Change Research Act of 1990 be issued every four years to ensure the government understands the threats that rising temperatures pose and what is driving climate changes. The report is the U.S. government’s most comprehensive look at climate change and serves as a crucial guide to state and community efforts to prepare for the effects.”
“The Trump administration has upended what it calls “blatantly unfair” talks to set a carbon tax on international shipping and has vowed “reciprocal measures” to shield U.S. ships from any fees, according to a letter seen by POLITICO.
The International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Environmental Protection Conference (MEPC) is taking place in London this week and aims to reach a deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from shipping.