Trump is defending new tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, even though they could bring short-term economic disadvantages for the USA. The measures are intended to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking and strengthen domestic industry. Canada and Mexico have announced countermeasures, while China is threatening a WTO complaint. Financial markets are reacting negatively and experts are warning of a global slowdown in growth and rising prices. Trump is also planning tariffs against the EU. Critics, including from within his own ranks, fear rising costs for US consumers and legal challenges to the emergency declaration.
Trump's announcement of tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China is causing unrest on the financial markets. Share prices in Asia fell sharply and the US and European stock markets are facing further losses. The tariffs affect goods worth 1.3 trillion dollars and the countries affected have announced retaliatory measures. China is also planning a WTO complaint. Analysts are hoping for Chinese economic measures. Europe is also expecting further trade conflicts, as Trump has announced tariffs on EU goods.
Elon Musk, who is leading Trump's government reorganization, wants to close the US development aid agency USAID as it is “no longer salvageable”. Trump supports this as part of his “America First” policy, which is already leading to a global freeze on US aid. Critics warn of drastic consequences for humanitarian programs. There are also concerns about Musk's access to government payment systems and sensitive data. Democrats are demanding explanations about his influence. Since Trump took office, numerous civil servants have been dismissed or replaced in order to reduce the bureaucracy.
Taiwan is planning to help companies relocate to the USA in order to cushion the impact of Trump's new tariffs. To this end, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is offering information on investment locations, laws and potential partners. The industrial institutes in North America are also to promote research and production cooperation. Taiwanese tech companies with factories in Mexico and China are particularly affected. Shares in Foxconn, Quanta and Inventec recorded significant losses. Taiwan also wants to promote domestic investment in order to reduce its dependence on China.
Beyoncé won the Grammy for Album of the Year for the first time with *Cowboy Carter*. Kendrick Lamar won in two main categories with *Not Like Us*. The show also served as a fundraiser for wildfire victims in Los Angeles and raised 7 million dollars.
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te calls for dialog with China to ensure peace despite global changes. He emphasizes that Taiwan must determine its own destiny, while China insists on the “one China” policy.
EU heads of state discuss defense against Russia and how to deal with US President Trump. Topics include joint armaments projects, financing issues and Trump's demand for higher military spending by Europeans.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls on Panama to end China's influence on the Panama Canal, otherwise the USA could take action. Panama's President Mulino wants to examine Chinese contracts, but emphasizes Panama's sovereignty.
The US pilot safety system NOTAM is back in operation after a failure. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calls for an urgent modernization of the outdated system. The incident caused minimal disruption to flights.
At least four Palestinians were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in the Gaza Strip. The attack was directed against a vehicle that the Israeli army classified as suspicious and was located near the Nuseirat camp west of Gaza. The attack took place despite the ceasefire agreement, which was violated by both sides.
The CDU is under pressure after a difficult week, particularly due to its migration plans, which have received approval from the AfD. The “immediate program”, which includes measures such as border controls and detention pending deportation, is to be adopted at the party conference. Friedrich Merz emphasizes that he is not seeking cooperation with the AfD. Despite protests, the CDU wants to show a clear and united line in order to maintain its chances in the election.
Greenpeace measurements show high PFAS concentrations in sea foam on the German coast, particularly on Sylt, Norderney and in Kühlungsborn. PFAS, which are considered toxic and do not degrade in the environment, can be carcinogenic and accumulate in the human body. There are no specific limit values for PFAS in sea foam in Germany, but the values are often several thousand times higher than the Danish limit values. Greenpeace advises avoiding contact with the foam, especially for children and pets. The Federal Ministry for the Environment is working on measures to limit PFAS, but there is still no clear recommendation for beach visitors. The Netherlands criticizes Germany for allowing too many PFAS from German chemical plants to enter the Rhine.
US State Department imposes security level 3 for travelers to Germany and calls for increased vigilance when traveling to Germany.
Ursula Von der Leyen resigns!!!!
The US Department of Agriculture has been ordered to remove all references to climate change from its official website, Politico reports.
According to Reuters, the US is urging Ukraine to hold elections by the end of the year!
Germany now has almost 3 million unemployed in January, the highest level for almost ten years. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 6.4%.
In the Bryansk region, drones from the Ukrainian armed forces attempted to attack the “Druzhba” oil pumping station in the village of Mamai in the Novozybkov region. Several private houses were damaged in the attack, but the oil pumping station remained undamaged.
The Russian-Chinese university has increased the performance of Nvidia processors by a factor of 800.
European officials fear that the introduction of import tariffs by the US will finally destroy the fragile unity of the Union, - Bloomberg. The Europeans are of the opinion that a trade conflict is inevitable. A list of American goods on which retaliatory tariffs are to be imposed has already been prepared in the EU.
The Esprit fashion group will close all 56 stores in Germany by the end of the year. Around 1,300 employees will lose their jobs. The brand rights of the insolvent European company will be sold to the British financial investor Alteri.
A ship with a Russian crew has been detained in Norway. The Norwegian police suspect that the ship Silver Dania is involved in damaging an undersea cable between Latvia and Sweden. The entire crew of the ship is Russian.
On Wednesday, the German government lowered its forecast for economic growth in Germany for 2025 from 1.1% to 0.3%. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck justified this by citing the “high level of uncertainty” due to US economic and trade policy under Donald Trump and the political situation in Germany, among other things.
Oil merger: Adnoc and OMV plan to merge their plastics business. The Emirati oil company Adnoc and the Austrian energy company OMV are planning to merge their plastics divisions - and thus create a billion-euro group. (HB)
US antitrust agency: Blocks $14 billion HPE-Juniper merger. For the first time since the inauguration of Donald Trump, the Department of Justice is intervening in an ongoing deal. Specifically, the concern is that Hewlett Packard Enterprise would own ~70% of the network servers in the US with the acquisition (LD)
Hensold: Wants to take over Continental employees: While the automotive industry is suffering, the defense industry is booming. This is why Hensold has now offered to take over the redundant employees of Continental (and also some from Robert Bosch). This is not the first time - Rheinmetall already offered Continental employees jobs six months ago. (HB)
Customs duties: How German companies are preparing in Mexico. For years, German companies produced in Mexico in order to export across the border to the USA. The new tariffs are now affecting them too. (WiWo)
Porsche: Plans to restructure the Executive Board. Business in China is wobbling, the share price is falling - Porsche has to react. And as a first step, it is planning to restructure the Executive Board, with Vice Chairman Lutz Meschke among those to leave. (mm)
Flight numbers: Increased by 7.7% in 2024, but still below pre-corona level. Good figures for Lufthansa & Co: ~200 million guests flew to and from the 22 main German airports in 2024 - 7.7% more than in 2023, but still 12% less than in 2019 (then a record year with ~227 million guests). (HB)
- DAX: Ends record January with >21,000 points (BÖ)
- Post: Record number of complaints (HB)
- Allianz: Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk to share cargo space in future (NTV)
- About You: Management approves Zalando takeover (HB)
- Berlin: BVG offers 15% more salary - but strike still looms (NTV)
- China: Plans counter-tariffs against the USA (NTV)
- DOGE: Newly established US government efficiency agency gets access to sensitive financial data (WSJ)
- Russia: Still has $2 billion parked at JP Morgan (WSJ)
- USA: World War 2 sabotage manual becomes bestseller (SZ)
- Oil market: Should remain stable until at least 2040, according to new study (FT)
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