Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Mexico imposes tariffs on China, Myanmar’s government strikes hospital, Trump to offer farmers relief, US Fed cuts rates again

Women work in the plastic container assembly area inside the El Oso shoe polish factory, located in Mexico City, Mexico, in its new facilities, after officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security and staff from the Benito Juarez mayor's office arbitrarily and violently remove their supplies, raw materials, machinery, and work tools on January 17 of this year following a coordinated operation stemming from a private dispute. On August 27, 2025.
Women work in the plastic container assembly area inside the El Oso shoe polish factory, located in Mexico City, Mexico, in its new facilities, after officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security and staff from the Benito Juarez mayor's office arbitrarily and violently remove their supplies, raw materials, machinery, and work tools on January 17 of this year following a coordinated operation stemming from a private dispute. On August 27, 2025.
Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto

50: Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is taking a page out of US President Donald Trump’s book, implementing up to a 50% tariff on more than 1,400 products in a bid to boost domestic production. The tariffs are expected to heavily affect China, which has increased its shipping to Mexico as a way to bypass US tariffs, and come as the US has been pressuring it trade partners to distance themselves from China.

34: Myanmar’s military struck a hospital in the western part of the country on Wednesday night, killing at least 34 people, as the civil war approaches the five-year mark. The government is attempting to remove the Arakan Army, an ethnic army that controls parts of the region and opposes the country’s military regime.

$12 billion: US President Donald Trump announced $12 billion in aid to farmers hit hard by the trade war with China. But some farmers say it isn’t enough to cover the losses.

3: The US Federal Reserve cut rates for the third time this year, with the range now set between 3.5% and 3.75%. The vote was surprisingly divided, with three of the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee opting against a cut.

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