President Donald Trump said that Americans could feel “some pain” after Canada and Mexico vowed to retaliate against the tariffs that he imposed on their imports. Mr Trump defended the measures, saying that “it will all be worth the price that must be paid”. From Tuesday America will place levies of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, and increase tariffs on China by 10%. Canadian oil faces a lower levy of 10%.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, announced a levy of 25% on American imports worth C$155bn ($107bn). Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, promised a similar response. Meanwhile a spokesperson for the European Union said that the bloc would “respond firmly” if Mr Trump levied tariffs on imports from the bloc, according to reports.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s president, met Muhammad bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. It is Mr Sharaa’s first official trip abroad since he led the rebellion that toppled Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator since 2000, in December. Mr Sharaa and the crown prince, who is the kingdom’s de facto ruler, discussed plans to rebuild Syria and strengthen the country’s ties with Gulf states.
UniCredit said it had bought a 4.1% stake in Generali, Italy’s biggest insurer. UniCredit, the country’s second-biggest bank, said that it had bought the shares over time and that it had no “strategic interest” in Generali. Last year UniCredit said it had amassed a 28% stake in Commerzbank, a German lender, and launched a takeover bid for Banco BPM, another Italian bank.
America’s government removed the protected status of 300,000 Venezuelans in the country, putting them at risk of deportation. The protections were given to migrants from countries that America deems unsafe; Venezuela has become increasingly autocratic under Nicolás Maduro. On Saturday Mr Trump said that Venezuela had agreed that it would take back migrants deported from America.
Mr Trump said that America had carried out air strikes on members of Islamic State in Somalia. On social media the president claimed that the strikes “killed many terrorists” without harming civilians. The action was confirmed by an official in the Somali government, but was not independently verified. Pete Hegseth, America’s defence secretary, said it happened in the Golis Mountains in the north of Somalia.
Ken Martin was elected as the new chair of the Democratic National Committee, the American party’s leadership group. Mr Martin, Minnesota’s state party chairman, has a long history of working on presidential campaigns. The Democrats are in disarray after Republicans won the White House and both houses of Congress in November. Mr Martin will be instrumental in helping the Democrats to rebuild their support.
Word of the week: wu nu, or “housing slave”, slang for young Taiwanese homebuyers who feel trapped by their expensive mortgages. Read the full story.
American politics matters intensely to the rest of the world. Read The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.