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.
Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state, told Jose Raul Mulino, Panama’s president, that China’s “position of influence and control” over the Panama Canal was unacceptable. Mr Rubio warned that America may “protect its rights” under the treaty governing the canal unless Panama curbed Chinese influence. Mr Mulino downplayed the warning, saying he did not see “any real threat” from America.
Police in Georgia made several arrests at a protest against the country’s Russia-friendly ruling party, Georgian Dream. Nika Melia, the leader of a pro-European party, and Gigi Ugulava, a former mayor of Tbilisi, the capital, were among those detained. The protest called for fresh parliamentary elections after Georgian Dream’s victory last year was rejected by the country’s opposition.
Figure of the day: 90,000, the number of Americans that died from drug overdoses, mainly involving fentanyl, in the year to August 2024. Read the full story.
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