Expectations are growing that Donald Trump will tweak his tariffs on Canada and Mexico later today. Last night, in a marathon speech to Congress, Trump said Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal. He also had a message for Greenland. Listen to Trump 100 as you scroll.
Wednesday 5 March 2025 14:43, UK
It’s been a whirlwind six weeks of Trump 2.0.
And to help make sense of it, our US correspondents will answer your questions in a live recording of the Trump 100 podcast on Friday afternoon.
Send in your questions now in the box – and the team will get through as many as they can.
We’re pausing our live coverage. Here’s what you need to be aware of, though, after a busy day of news.
Trump’s Congress speech
Donald Trump delivered a near two-hour long speech to Congress, in which he declared „wokeness“ dead and acknowledged that there will be economic disturbances from his recently-imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
You can catch up on the speech here, though we’ve mercifully cut it down to just six minutes of the most key moments…
He addressed the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying that Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal and revealing that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote him a letter.
The president then hinted at possible reductions in defence spending and expressed hope for a deal on TikTok, with a potential extension of the deadline to ban the app in the US.
There were also mentions for the Panama Canal and Greenland.
The president said America intended to reclaim the Canal – which it relinquished control over in 1999 – and repeated his ambition to own the vast Danish territory.
You can catch up on the full details of his speech here.
How it was received
It’s safe to say the speech was met with mixed reactions.
Republicans and Elon Musk – who was watching from the gallery – took to their feet to loudly chant, clap and cheer on several occasions.
The other side of the room looked a tad more glum, although many appeared to make fun of the president with stickers and banners.
Some Democratic politicians disrupted proceedings, leading to Al Green’s removal from the chamber.
House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated plans to censure Green for his actions, reflecting the deepening divisions in the House.
More movement on tariffs expected
And as per our last post, we’re expecting a bit more news on tariffs later today.
It’s thought that Trump could announce compromises soon.
The potential agreements would likely involve scaling back at least part of the new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.
Want the full picture?
And finally, a recap of Trump’s marathon speech wouldn’t be complete without our US correspondents‘ takes on the Trump 100 podcast.
Mark Stone and James Matthews recorded a late-night version after the president’s speech dragged on for nearly two hours – and it’s essential listening:
An announcement on US tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada is expected later today, Trump’s commerce secretary has said.
Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV that he expected an announcement after talking to the president, who is weighing sectors of the economy that could see some potential relief.
But he said that reciprocal tariffs were still coming on 2 April, with some being levied right away and others taking weeks or months to be imposed.
Earlier today, he said Trump would „probably“ announce tariff compromises soon.
The potential agreements would likely involve scaling back at least part of the new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, he said.
He told Fox Business the new deals could be revealed today, but did not specify what Trump would agree to.
Several reports have suggested that Trump will hold a phone call with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today.
Panama’s president has accused Donald Trump of lying when he said the US was „reclaiming“ the Panama Canal in his speech.
Jose Raul Mulino said the key waterway was not in the process of being restored and the task had not been discussed with the US.
„I reject, on behalf of Panama and Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation,“ he said in a post on X.
„Cooperation between our governments requires clear understandings on issues of mutual interest as has been done.
„It has nothing to do with the ‚recovery of the canal‘ or with tarnishing our national sovereignty. The canal is Panamanian and will continue to be Panamanian.“
During his speech to Congress last night, Trump said America intended to reclaim the famous shipping passage – which it relinquished control over in 1999.
An America led by Donald Trump is a „reliable ally“, Sir Keir Starmer has said – repeating what he told Sky News on Sunday at the conclusion of a summit of European leaders on the Ukraine war.
„We work very closely with the United States on defence, on security and on intelligence. We have done for many, many years, we are intertwined, and of course they are a reliable ally,“ Starmer told MPs when asked whether he had a plan B if Trump doesn’t give Ukraine a sufficient security guarantee.
„We are operating on basis day-in, day-out across the world, as he knows.“
Watch political editor Beth Rigby question Starmer
It comes after reports emerged earlier that Starmer, along with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is considering meeting Trump in Washington for war talks.
We’re covering the Ukraine war in our dedicated live page here – follow for the latest updates from the frontlines, reaction from the Kremlin to Zelenskyy’s letter to Trump and news that the US has cut off some intelligence-sharing to Ukraine…
Reports have emerged that Trump will talk to Canada’s prime minister today amid a US-triggered trade war that Justin Trudeau has dismissed as „dumb“.
Trump slapped Canada with 25% tariffs on Tuesday night, Ottawa announced retaliatory measures immediately – and Trudeau hit out at Trump in a furious news conference yesterday, saying the measures were a „dumb thing to do“.
A person familiar with the matter told CNN the pair will have a phone call today, with Reuters also citing a source as saying the same thing.
Here’s a closer look at Trump’s tariffs and what they could mean for the world’s economies…
Trump will „probably“ announce tariff compromise deals with Canada and Mexico soon, his commerce secretary said.
The potential agreements would likely involve scaling back at least part of the new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, Howard Lutnick said.
He told Fox Business the new deals could be revealed today, but did not specify what Trump would agree to.
Instead, he suggested the US president would be willing to meet Canada and Mexico „in the middle“.
„Both the Mexicans and the Canadians are on the phone with me all day today, trying to show that they’ll do better,“ Lutnick said.
„And the president is listening because, you know, he’s very, very fair and very reasonable. So I think he’s going to work something out with them.“
South Korea has said it will talk to the United States about the tariff rates between the two countries after Donald Trump’s speech.
The US president sparked concern in Seoul when he said South Korea’s average tariff was four times higher than the level in the US – suggesting the country was in his sights for tariffs.
Seoul has now disputed this, with its trade ministry saying tariff rates on US imports were 0.79% as of last year under the free trade agreement between the countries.
The ministry said it would „actively communicate“ with Washington about its tariffs.
Trump has already imposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, and signalled that higher charges could be imposed on more countries.
Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to make Greenland part of the US, and he didn’t miss a chance to say it again last night.
He supported, he said, Greenland’s „right to determine your own future“, but added somewhat threateningly that the US will get it „one way or another“.
Well, Greenland’s prime minister has hit back, saying: „We do not wish to be Americans.“
Mute Egede said: „Greenland is ours. We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Greenlanders.
„The Americans and their leaders must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot just be taken. Our future is decided by us in Greenland.“
Why does Trump want Greenland? We take a look here – as well as at the president’s ambition to control the Panama Canal.
Trump’s speech was just as notable for what happened on the floor as for what was said from the podium, says US correspondent David Blevins.
Silent Democrats glared throughout his speech and held up „False“, „No King“ and „This is not normal“ signs in protest, with representative Al Green ejected for refusing to stay quiet – an extremely rare, if not unprecedented, event in modern congressional history.
Green had interrupted Trump’s address, repeatedly shouting: „He has no mandate.“
As Blevins says: „President Trump says America is back – it’s clear the drama is back too.“
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
Donald Trump hoped – and said – his tariffs would boost the US economy. But a day on from the taxes coming into effect, the dollar is at a near four-month low, according to an index of dollar performance against major currencies.
That’ll mean even more expensive imports for US businesses and consumers.
Due to the dollar weakening, one pound buys $1.2845 – a low not seen since November.
The US stock market rises seen since the election of the president have now been wiped out.
Both the tech-heavy Nasdaq and typically reliable and profitable S&P 500 indexes have fallen back to their pre-election day November levels.
Only the Dow Jones Industrial Average index of 30 major companies listed on US stock exchanges kept some gains, at a mid-January high.
Elsewhere, stock markets bounced back from Tuesday’s sharp falls in the wake of the tariff news. Beijing announced a 5% growth target this year for the world’s second-largest economy, while Germany said it was changing its self-imposed borrowing rules to allow for more spending on weapons and infrastructure.
It’s brought about a large 1.4% rally in the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, almost recovering from losses on Monday and Tuesday.
For the first time in nearly a month, the pound dipped below €1.20 and now buys €1.1987.
After briefly dipping below $70 the oil price is back at $70.88 for a barrel of Brent crude as the group of oil exporting countries confirmed they were expanding production.
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Trump latest: US expected to scale back Mexico and Canada tariffs; Trump accused of lying by Panama – Sky News
