The Daily Moth 3-4-2025
It is Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Here are today’s top stories.
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U.S. imposes tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico
President Trump announced tariffs of 25% on most imports from Canada and Mexico and an increase of tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%.
Target and Best Buy warned shoppers to expect higher prices.
Trump said the tariffs were to punish Canada and Mexico for fentanyl trafficking and to encourage car manufacturers and other businesses to move their production to the U.S.
China responded by imposing tariffs of 10% to 15% on various U.S. agricultural imports.
Canada said it would impose 25% tariffs on more than $20 billion worth of U.S. imports with more coming in the next 21 days.
Mexico said the tariffs were without any reason or justification and would wait until Sunday to announce retaliatory measures.
Automobiles and car parts will be affected because many vehicles are built in Canada and Mexico with parts being imported through the countries, so the tariffs will hit these things. Analysts said average U.S. car prices could rise. This may not have an impact on you if you’re not planning to buy a new car, but there will be widespread impacts to the automobile manufacturers and downstream impacts.
The second thing is crude oil — Canada shipped almost $100 billion worth of crude oil that U.S. refineries process to produce gasoline, diesel, chemicals and plastics. These things will not get a 25% tariff because Trump’s current order says energy imported from Canada will get a 10% tariff because many households in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest depend on Canadian energy, so although it’s lower, it’s still going to increase costs, probably higher gas prices for one.
Tariffs on Mexico and Canada will raise the prices of tequila or Canadian whisky, which may be passed down to higher prices in restaurants and bars.
The price for avocados is likely going to go up at the grocery store because of the tariffs on Mexico. The price for vegetables and fruit imported from Mexico also probably will go up.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/03/nx-s1-5316553/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/04/us/tariffs-us-canada-mexico-china
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/goods-crosshairs-trumps-tariffs-mexico-canada-china-119392407
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/04/trump-tariffs-target-best-buy-warning-prices/81374493007/
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Trump suspends military aid to Ukraine
Last night, President Trump ordered a suspension on military aid to Ukraine.
The suspension of military aid halts a pipeline of $1 billion worth of arms and ammunition that was on its way towards Ukraine and their military for use to defend themselves from the Russian invasion.
The suspension is a tremendous decision by Trump because it puts Ukraine in a very weak and exposed position. It also comes after the White House blowup in which Trump and Vice President Vance expressed anger at Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough and for not quickly accepting a ceasefire on whatever terms they wanted.
The White House said the suspension is temporary and the aid can be reinstated if Trump determined that Ukraine demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy said today that he regrets what happened in the Oval Office and that it did not go the way that it was supposed to be. He said he wants to make things right and needs clarification from the U.S. on the aid pause.
The latest is that the U.S. and Ukraine may sign a minerals agreement today and that President Trump plans to announce it during his address to Congress tonight.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/us/politics/trump-ukraine-military-aid.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-ukraine-prepare-sign-minerals-deal-tuesday-sources-say-2025-03-04/
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Trump suspends military aid to Ukraine
CBS news reported that the world’s largest and oldest iceberg, A23a, has run aground in shallow waters off the coast of South Georgia. Not the U.S. state, but the island in the South Atlantic, many miles off the southern tip of South America.
The iceberg A23a is a huge ice sheet that cracked off from Antarctica in 1986. It has moved, stopped, spinned, and moved again multiple times northwards from Antarctica. So far, it’s lost about 200 square miles of mass. Those who have seen the iceberg said it looks like a towering wall emerging from the ocean, stretching from horizon to horizon.
Now the iceberg is settling about 50 miles from South Georgia’s coast. Scientists predict that the iceberg will break into smaller chunks and begin to melt slowly afterward in a process that could interrupt shipping operations and disrupt fisheries in the region. The iceberg may be positive for the environment because it can dispense huge amounts of nutrients into the water and can boost populations of seals and penguins.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iceberg-a23a-south-georgia-island/
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Supreme Court decision on San Francisco sewage
The Supreme Court sided 5-4 in favor of the city of San Francisco on the question of whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can, under the Clean Water Act of 1972, impose prohibitions on wastewater released into the Pacific Ocean and penalize the city for violating the prohibitions.
The New York Times explained that the dispute fundamentally focused on human waste (sewage) and how San Francisco disposes of it. The city releases raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean during rainstorms partly due to its very old infrastructure.
The Court said the EPA’s permit rules on San Francisco’s wastewater discharges into the Pacific Ocean had broad and vague prohibitions that are unenforceable.
The Court sympathized with San Francisco, which said they could face costs up to $10 billion to comply with EPA standards or face penalties.
The Supreme Court ruled that the EPA can impose specific discharge limits to prevent pollution but cannot penalize polluters based solely on vague water quality standards that lack clear compliance criteria. The majority expressed concern that cities like San Francisco could face severe penalties even if they adhered to permit terms, simply because broader water quality fell below EPA expectations.”
San Francisco must still treat and manage its sewage to meet federal and state requirements, but the EPA now has less power to penalize the city.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/us/politics/supreme-court-epa-water.html
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Linda McMahon confirmed as Secretary of Education
On Monday, the Senate voted to confirm Linda McMahon as the new Secretary of the Department of Education. McMahon is best known for founding WWE with her husband Vince McMahon. McMahon served in the first Trump administration as the leader of the Small Business Administration.
Now, the Trump administration said it wants to dismantle the Department of Education and wants McMahon to oversee the dismantling.
NPR explained that the department was formed by an act of Congress and only Congress can close the department, but McMahon can certainly use her power to make the department smaller and smaller.
NPR said the Education Department is one of the smallest federal agencies and one of its primary roles is to administer federal funding for K-12 schools, including students in lower-income communities, and funding for students with disabilities through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
McMahon said during her confirmation hearing that she doesn’t want to see federal funding end, but she wants to see the department be smaller and more efficient. The Trump campaign said they want to see states run the educational system.
ABC News reported that President Trump is expected to sign an executive order very soon to call McMahon to dismantle the department and work with Congress to pass legislation to eliminate it.
I am not clear on what kinds of impacts there could be on deaf students and deaf education-related programs in the U.S. I’ll need to do some research and talk with some people and hopefully I’ll have a report in the near future.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/03/nx-s1-5307078/trump-cabinet-linda-mcmahon-confirmed-education
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/education-secretary-linda-mcmahon-announces-plans-departments-final/story?id=119429248
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.