The Political Thread

[Comrade Khan]

lol big baby trump mad and cursing! such a good deal maker!

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump was "colourful" with moments of tension as the two hashed out how to bring the American-led trade war to an end.
Trudeau said negotiations are underway to secure some form of tariff relief for certain sectors, but warned there's no sign that Trump is willing to drop his levies entirely and it's likely a trade dispute will continue "for the foreseeable future."
Trudeau said there are ongoing discussions to have all of the tariffs dropped until April 2, when Trump is expected to impose another layer of retaliatory tariffs on all countries he claims are ripping off the U.S. But those talks have not been finalized and Trudeau said he was reluctant to comment until there is something concrete to announce.
While Trump considers what to do with Canada, he cut a deal with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Thursday to exempt products from her country for at least a month.
Before that announcement, Howard Lutnick, Trump's commerce secretary, told CNBC on Thursday morning that the president is weighing dropping all Canadian and Mexican tariffs until April.
Lutnick made those comments as stock market indices were plunging again today amid mounting investor fears Trump could throw the economy off the rails with his trade actions.
"It's likely that it will cover all USMCA compliant goods and services, so that which is part of President Trump's deal with Canada and Mexico are likely to get an exemption from these tariffs," Lutnick said, referring to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement that's called CUSMA in Canada.
"The reprieve is for one month," he said.
A senior government official told CBC News that Trump used profanity more than once while discussing dairy products on Wednesday's call, a longtime trade irritant for the U.S. Trudeau did not use profanity, the official said.
Trump also became animated when discussing fentanyl, the official said.
Trudeau stressed that the U.S. government's own border seizure data shows Canada is not much of a problem and that the country is doing all it can to tamp down on the drug, the official said.
The government official said Trump and Vice-President JD Vance, who was also on the call, then pushed back hard on Trudeau's defence, saying seizures is not the right way to measure this problem. Trudeau said there's no other way to actually quantify the problem, the official said.
The official said the Trump call did end in a somewhat friendly manner, as Trump said on social media. The leaders agreed their officials should discuss the possibility of Trump exempting all CUSMA-compliant products from tariffs and what Canada might be willing to offer in return.

 

[Grim]

Tbh if other countries really wanna put the screws to the US, enforce a 100% Tariff on American goods or a flat out trade embargo.

 

[CraigPelton]

MAGA would like to see fewer uppity black congressmen waving canes at fascists and more trashy orange women putting up Hunter Biden dick pics. Really they just want to see as much of Hunter Biden's dick as they possibly can.

 

[Chris]

He said these tariffs would be non-negotiable and after two days of the market crashing they're paused again, what a clown show

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/06/trump-tariffs-live-updates-businesses-warn-of-ripple-down-effects-from-tariffs-because-of-rising-costs.html

• President Donald Trump said he’s pausing tariffs for Mexican goods and services covered by the North American trade agreement known as USMCA until April 2, after speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum.
• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC earlier that Trump was considering exemptions on Canadian and Mexican goods covered by the agreement.
• The White House announced Wednesday it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the USMCA. Lutnick said one-month exemptions for more than just carmakers are likely.

Update:

Trump issued temporary tariff exemptions for a wide range of goods coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, partially reversing the sweeping 25% duties he imposed on the two trading partners just days earlier.

The exemptions will apply to goods that are compliant with the North American trade agreement known as the USMCA, a White House official told reporters earlier Thursday afternoon. The pause will last until April 2, the same day that Trump is poised to enact “reciprocal tariffs” on foreign nations that have import taxes on U.S. goods.

About 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports are covered by the trade agreement, a White House official told CNBC’s Megan Cassella.

 

[Chris]

Unvaccinated New Mexico resident tests positive for measles after dying

A possible second measles death has been recorded in the U.S. this year after a New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus following their death.

abcnews.go.com

A possible second measles death has been recorded in the U.S. this year after a New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus following their death.

The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) said on Thursday the individual was unvaccinated and that the official cause of death is still under investigation.

The first measles death this year was reported in an unvaccinated school-aged child linked to an outbreak in western Texas.