Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrat on a Russian secondary sanctions bill, said he's not discouraged that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is putting off a vote on the bill again. The bill has 85 sponsors in the Senate, and would give the president the ability to put up to 500% tariffs on the goods of countries that buy Russian fossil fuels; it also would expand sanctions on Russian officials.
President Donald Trump said that China's President Xi Jinping wants "to discuss the fact that they're paying 157% tariff, it's a little higher than they thought. And we're doing very well. I think we're going to do well in that negotiation."
The 12 U.S. states challenging President Donald Trump's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act filed their reply brief at the Supreme Court on Oct. 20, arguing that the text of IEEPA doesn't allow for any tariffs to be imposed and that Trump's reciprocal tariffs and tariffs to combat the flow of fentanyl don't meet the statute's other requirements (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
Two Asia Society Policy Institute experts said the readouts from the call over the weekend between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng suggest the call was mostly logistical, planning for the next round of talks in Malaysia.
President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a critical minerals development framework that pledges investment in the sector, both mining and processing.
President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters on his plane on Oct. 19 that he intends to hike tariffs on Colombian goods on Oct. 21. He had earlier attacked Colombia's president on social media, calling him "an illegal drug leader," and saying that the U.S. no longer would give money to Colombia so that it can work to stop cocaine trafficking.
President Donald Trump told reporters that unless China stops fentanyl shipments, resumes buying U.S. soybeans and stops playing "the rare earth game with us," he won't lower tariffs.
Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from the top soybean-producing state, Illinois, led a letter with 36 other Democrats asking President Donald Trump to terminate the reciprocal tariffs and fentanyl tariffs he levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
A bipartisan group of 27 House members, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul, R-Texas, called on President Donald Trump Oct. 17 to impose “forceful new joint sanctions” on Russia and countries that buy its oil, to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, argues that academics, editorial writers and analysts who say higher tariffs hurt domestic manufacturing are all wrong.