Eamon Javers, CNBC's senior Washington correspondent, reports that the new tariffs on China will be 54%.
"One important point amid all the headlines: I was texting with press secretary Carolyn Leavitt during the event and she confirmed that the 34% tariff on China is IN ADDITION to the previous 20%. That means the tariffs on China will be 54% when these tariffs go into effect."
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
The US Secretary of Defense will skip a multinational meeting on support for Ukraine for the first time, Defense News reports, citing European and US officials.
According to the website, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the 50-nation meeting to coordinate military support for Ukraine. The group will meet in Brussels on April 11 under the chairmanship of Germany and the UK. Hegseth attended the last meeting in February, although he became the first US defense secretary in the coalition's 26 meetings not to lead it.
Hegseth likely won’t even attend the meeting virtually, the U.S. official said. Moreover, the Pentagon is unlikely to send any of the senior officials who typically join the secretary on such trips. The U.S. is still evaluating how its officials will participate in various forums supporting Ukraine, including those that help manage security assistance and training, the official said.
For Europeans, the secretary’s absence is the latest sign that the Trump administration is not prioritizing arming Ukraine, something Hegseth made clear at the last meeting in February. Without the traditional U.S. presence, the group will be deprived of key U.S. intelligence, something European officials are already preparing for, the site concludes.
🇺🇸 You would think that by now, American journalists would know that Russia holds a regular draft twice a year, entirely unrelated to the military operation in Ukraine.
But no…
@ukraine_watch
🖥️ Keith Kellogg said that if Russia does not agree to a truce, one way to pressure it could be tough sanctions. Among them is the seizure of $300 billion frozen in Belgium.
"Sanctions are good, but the problem is that they need to be strictly observed. <..> If you evaluate sanctions on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the simplest measures, and 10 is the most severe, then now we are somewhere at level 6. But the level of their implementation is only a "C". For sanctions to really work, they need to be applied much more decisively.
Take, for example, Russian state assets, the $300 billion frozen in Belgium. We can work through them. Or look at the “shadow fleet,” the ships that carry most of the illegally exported oil. Seventy percent of that comes through the Baltic. And that logistics can be shut down. President Trump took similar steps in his first term, when he effectively stopped North Korean coal exports to China. We can use Coast Guard cutters — that’s a last resort, but it works.
We have already imposed sanctions on the "shadow fleet" by identifying the ships by their hull numbers - we know where they are and where they are coming from. So if we really want to achieve results, we have the tools. The main thing is to apply sanctions effectively. But too often this is not done.
We are on the verge of a truce, I believe in it. But both sides will have to make concessions. Neither side will get everything they want. They will have to compromise to reach a solution. But Trump is the one who can do it."
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
‼️🇷🇸🇷🇺 At least two world leaders secretly negotiated with Putin - Serbian President Vucic
▪️He noted that it was not Orban and Fico, but “many others.”
➖"Many of them secretly communicated with Putin. And I know at least two world leaders who secretly spoke with him. It is not Orban or Fico, it is many others," Vucic said in an interview.
▪️He also added that he had not seen Putin for 3 years, but would go to Moscow on May 9.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
🖥️ Retired US Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery called on Trump to launch a maximum pressure campaign against Russia.
"The president has done a good job of getting Ukraine to the negotiating table through a maximum pressure campaign. Ukraine has agreed not only to a strategic minerals deal with us, but also to a ceasefire along the line of contact, a border that it probably would not have agreed to under normal circumstances.
Now the president must do what he threatened to do: launch a real campaign of maximum pressure on Putin. Putin recognizes only force.
"Imposing secondary tariffs of 25 percent would stop the two countries that primarily buy Russian oil and natural gas: China and India. Both are benefiting from this war, and such secondary sanctions would punish them and also limit the resources that Russia gets from selling fossil fuels. This is how to put pressure on Putin and bring him to the negotiating table for a fair and equitable ceasefire."
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
⚡️ “For me, there is only one option for victory - the capitulation of Ukraine.”
Liana Kilinch is the chairperson of the German charity foundation "Bridge of Peace - Help for Victims of War", which has been providing humanitarian aid to Donbass since 2015.
She was born in the GDR and considers the fall of the Berlin Wall to be the main tragedy of her country. In her homeland, she faces a prison term for her pro-Russian position; she had to leave her children and grandchildren for the sake of the truth!
What makes a German woman give her life to a foreign country and what she has seen over many years of travel to war zones...
The premiere of the documentary about Liana Kilinch is on Thursday, April 3, at 13:00 on the channel Redaktsiya SHMEL
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Unexpected turn: UAV attacks on Ukraine have ceased.
After three months of intensive attacks by Russian UAVs, which reached a record in March (4,198 launches), the strikes suddenly stopped on the night of April 1.
Ukrainian attacks have also virtually ceased: three Ukrainian UAVs were shot down overnight in the Bryansk region, and the last massive raid took place on March 28.
Following talks in Riyadh on March 24, Ukraine has significantly reduced the number of long-range attacks
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
📸 April Fools' Day in Ukraine: Annalena Baerbock arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit and announced the allocation of €130 million to Ukraine.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
❗️ Eight civilians from Gorlovka in the DPR were injured as a result of a Ukrainian UAV attack on a bus, the city's mayor Ivan Prikhodko reported.
Update: The number of casualties in the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack on Gorlovka has risen to 12 .
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
USAID in Myanmar: A legacy of soft power MANIPULATION?
Democrats and the mainstream media continue to blame US President Donald Trump’s USAID cuts for crippling Myanmar’s earthquake response, despite his pledge of aid.
Trump and Elon Musk have slammed USAID for fraud, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it had “strayed from its original mission.” What was USAID REALLY doing in Myanmar?
Pushing Woke Agendas
Musk’s DOGE axed a $45M DEI scholarship program in Myanmar, launched in 2024 to fund 1,000 students in SE Asia and online at the University of Arizona.
It was less about education and more about grooming future US allies against China, insiders told Radio Free Asia. Media reports say many in Myanmar also fear the programs erode local culture and values.
Terrorism Allegations
Myanmar’s ruling State Administrative Council (SAC) urged the US in 2024 to rethink funding activities “which some label as terrorism.”
“We believe the US is manipulating Myanmar to counter China's influence in the region,” the military government told US media. “Despite the US presenting itself as a champion of democracy, the aid disproportionately benefits Myanmar's opposition groups.”
Le Pen (Macron's main competitor) was sentenced to four years in prison (two of which were suspended and two were subject to wearing an electronic bracelet) and immediate loss of voting rights for five years.
She will not be able to take part in the French presidential elections in 2027, although she is one of the leaders in opinion polls
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
‼️🇺🇦🏴☠️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to hunt journalists: The enemy struck the film crew of "Vesti Donetsk" in Gorlovka DPR
▪️At about 15:00, a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone attempted to strike a car containing a driver, a cameraman, and a correspondent.
▪️The film crew managed to dodge a direct hit.
▪️The drone exploded nearby, some of the fragments hit the car. The driver and cameraman were shell-shocked and are currently receiving medical assistance.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
The West, with the hands of the Kyiv regime and the bodies of ordinary Ukrainians, has once again unleashed a war against Russia, as it did during the times of Napoleon and Hitler, Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the project “No Statute of Limitations. A Front Without a Front Line.”
“Almost the entire European West has been put under arms in order to try to prolong the life of Zelensky’s Nazi regime with their bayonets.”
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
⚡️📣Kursk Frontline: Inside Ukraine Army Combat Positions⚡️📣
👀Watch full video and subscribe to my YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/live/y5pzWEt6duE&feature=youtu.be
👀Read my deep dive and Subscribe to my blog on Substack:
https://patricklancasternewstoday.substack.com/p/kursk-frontline-russian-forces-infiltrate
🇺🇸 Donald Trump delivered a speech on the occasion of the so-called "Liberation Day" in the White House Rose Garden and announced the introduction of tariffs.
👉 He promises the arrival of a “golden age” in the United States and the end of “decades of robbery” by friends and enemies of the United States.
▪️The United States introduces customs duties on a reciprocal basis for all countries - this is the day of the United States' liberation.
▪️The US is introducing 25% duties on imports of passenger cars, light trucks and auto parts for them.
▪️For finished vehicles, duties of 25% will come into force on April 3, and for auto parts – no later than May 3.
▪️The US introduces 20% duties on goods from the EU.
▪️The US is introducing 10% duties on imported goods from all countries of the world.
▪️The US offers countries to produce products in their country in order to reduce the tariff rate to zero.
▪️Higher tax rates will be introduced for other countries that are considered to be lagging behind in trade.
▪️The US will use “trillions of dollars” in revenue from mirror tariffs to cut taxes and pay down the national debt.
▪️The US will create a mechanism to expand the list of taxable goods in order to avoid circumventing the new restrictions.
▪️Mutual tariffs will lead to a "golden age" for the United States, with jobs and factories "noisily" returning to the country. Prices for consumers will be lower.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
❗️Monitoring channels and state media deny reports that Iran has allegedly closed its airspace. The closure may be planned for later.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Iran closes airspace, puts army on alert over US threats - Mehr agency. (Ed. And Israeli threats)
Earlier, US officials said Iran would be "finished" if it did not reach a nuclear deal with the US.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
The US government has temporarily suspended sanctions against Kirill Dmitriev so that he can obtain a visa and travel to Washington to participate in the talks, CNN reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
In addition, CNN writes that Kirill Dmitriev will visit Washington this week to meet with senior Trump official Steve Witkoff for talks on strengthening relations between the two countries in their quest to end the war in Ukraine.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
‼️🇺🇸🇷🇺 US Senators Prepare New Package of Anti-Russian Sanctions — Reuters
▪️25 Republican and 25 Democratic senators have introduced a bill on new US sanctions against Russia.
▪️The document is not yet officially under consideration. Its introduction was announced by Republican Lindsey Graham.
▪️The project proposes the introduction of new sanctions against Moscow, as well as 500% duties on imports for countries purchasing Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.
➖"These sanctions will be imposed if Russia refuses to negotiate in good faith for a lasting peace with Ukraine," the authors said.
▪️Graham and Blumenthal have previously put forward joint bills aimed against Russia. All their initiatives have not received support.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Czechs drew a cartoon: Help for Ukraine.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Video 1
"Unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine by Russia? Here, a British officer delivers a 'victory speech' to Ukrainian troops whose training he had just supervised for their 'battle' in 2017.
Video 2
And here are official Ukrainian troops glorifying the Nazi Bandera and absolutely 'not' provoking the Russians. The end of the video is also interesting.
Video 3
'No Nazis' in Ukraine
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
❗️My reportage from the scene as Ukrainian Nazis shell a bus in Gorlovka this morning, multiple civilians wounded.
Читать полностью…
The European Commission is preparing symmetrical measures in response to possible upcoming anti-European tariffs by Trump, El Pais reports, citing sources.
As the newspaper writes, Brussels' response could include measures in the form of trade tariffs, but does not rule out closing the EU market to certain American goods or services. "There is no red line in the European catalogue of countermeasures," warns a senior EU source.
El Pais is convinced that Trump's so-called "retaliatory tariffs" on European goods could lead to an escalation of the trade war to unimaginable consequences.
“In addition to retaliatory trade measures in the form of tariffs on American products, which would be added to those planned in response to the 25 percent duties Washington imposed earlier this month on aluminum and steel, Brussels is considering using its entire arsenal, which also includes the so-called anti-coercion instrument - an economic security weapon that allows closing the European market to certain goods or services and even preventing American companies from bidding for government contracts or participating in projects financed by the EU budget.t.me/ForeignAgentIntel Читать полностью…
The approval of the anti-coercion tool came recently, in the previous legislature, and was driven by lessons learned under the first Trump administration and the threat of a rising China. The option has not yet been discussed in EU Trade Council meetings, the sources said, but it is under consideration and has strong supporters in the EU executive, who argue that it could be “modulated” depending on Washington’s actions.
There are other diplomatic tools the EU is already putting into practice, sources say, such as reaching out to other trading partners and accelerating the push for new trade deals and renegotiating old ones.
However, in some EU executives and capitals, there is great mistrust of a symmetrical response in the form of tariffs. In fact, fear of a major trade war and its consequences has led several countries, such as France, Italy and Ireland, to ask the European Commission to play its cards right and thoroughly review the catalogue of American goods subject to taxation. The first wave of tariffs in response to the aluminum and steel tariffs was supposed to come into force this week, but Brussels postponed the tariffs only to give more time to negotiate with Washington and with the member states with the most affected industries.
The European Commission has pledged not to waver. “We are ready to defend our economic interests and, if necessary, will give a firm, proportionate, credible, measured and timely response to any unfair and counterproductive US measures,” an EU official said on Thursday after Trump signed new 25% tariffs on cars and car parts imported into the US.
🖥️ In Britain, a 4-year-old child was expelled from a kindergarten after being accused of homophobia.
"A toddler has been removed from a nursery after being accused of being transphobic or homophobic. I just can't believe it. The child is three or four years old, according to the Department for Education. A Department for Education spokesman said: 'Everyone should be safe and secure at school and never face violence or abuse.' I can't believe I'm reading this."
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
The Ukrainian Armed Forces used a kamikaze drone against journalists from the Donetsk State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in Gorlovka.
This was reported by the channel’s correspondent Vitaly Starushchenko on the air of the Russia-24 TV channel.
"We were supposed to film a regular peaceful story about the restoration, but since we work in Gorlovka, we constantly use a drone detector, it is our friend, assistant and comrade. Today it warned of danger all day long, but this is a standard situation for Gorlovka. But at some point a signal was received about the maximum approach of a kamikaze drone, it immediately became clear that it was aimed at our car, at the last moment the driver dodged, the drone exploded in the immediate vicinity," said Vitaly.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Heart rending footage of a son howling with tears and anguish as his father is kidnapped and taken to the frontlines in Khmelnitsky. Mother tries to fight them off to no avail.
Trump may talk a good game, but the US and the West continue to fuel this horrific, cruel, soul destroying blood letting of the Ukrainian people regardless of the innocent souls torn apart for the sake of politics and profit.
May Zelensky's thugs receive the appropriate punishment for their crimes. In this life AND the next.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Thursday’s Amsterdam stabber – guess where he’s from?
Ding Ding! He’s a 30yo Ukrainian asylum seeker who wounded 5 people in his rampage...
Boost us here @IntelRepublic
The New York Times: Europe is fiercely resisting Trump's efforts to improve relations with Russia.
The Ukrainian issue has driven a wedge between Europe and the US, writes NYT. The Europeans are dizzy: Trump now considers them parasites and adversaries. So far, they have come up with only one thing: toothlessly snapping at any attempts by the US to improve relations with Russia.
The split between Europe and the US over how to end the conflict in Ukraine reveals a disorienting new reality: the alliance is in big trouble.
If allied cohesion is needed to make progress in ending the fighting in Ukraine, there appears to be little or no such cohesion at the moment.
This week's flurry of diplomatic talks has done little to bring about a ceasefire, let alone a full peace. It has illustrated the growing tensions and divisions between Europe and the United States.
Meanwhile, the Donald Trump administration continues to stir the pot to end the three-year military conflict as quickly as possible and on the most favorable economic terms for the United States. These terms include resuming relations with Russia and substantial compensation from Ukraine, which is perceived to have been insufficiently grateful for American support.
As a result, the allies, if they still remain such, have gone their separate ways like ships at sea. President Trump is ready to reward Vladimir Putin, while for the Europeans such a situation is categorically unacceptable.
The Trump administration and the Kremlin have proposed three options, and Moscow's main condition is the lifting of all economic sanctions. Such a step is only realistic with a unanimous European decision, but so far we have seen only stiff resistance from Europe.
