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Lizzy Yee

Graphic Truth: Trump increases tariff threats on top trade partners

US President Donald Trump is threatening to impose 30% tariffs against the United States’ top two trading partners, the European Union and Mexico, demanding that Europe open its markets more to US products and that Mexico combats local drug cartels. Without new trade deals, the levies would come into effect on Aug. 1, and are higher than the previous duties that Trump had threatened. The announcement has put both Mexico and the European trading bloc on their heels: they have each now scrapped earlier plans to retaliate, favoring negotiations to smooth things over in the next two weeks. However, as Trump continues to drive an extremely hard bargain with even the US’s closest trading partners, he increases the risk that they will look elsewhere for alliances – for some, this process has already begun.

Riot police officers fire tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators during anti-government protests dubbed “Saba Saba People’s March,” in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, Kenya, on July 7, 2025.

REUTERS/Suleiman Mbatiah

What We’re Watching: Kenya’s president cracks down further, UK and France open an atomic umbrella, Trump meddles in Brazil

Ruto orders police to shoot looters as Kenya protest escalate

Amid ongoing anti-government protests, Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered police to shoot looters in the legs. The order is meant to stop attacks on businesses, but could lead to more casualties after 31 people were killed on Monday alone. The youth-led protesters want Ruto to resign over high taxes, corruption allegations, and police brutality. According to Mercy Kaburu, a professor of international relations at United States International University in Nairobi, Ruto’s government “is not at risk of collapse before the next general election” which is set for 2027. But, she cautions, he “could be threatened if nothing changes.”

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US-Brazil relations in crisis

In this episode of Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take, Ian breaks down the growing crisis between the US and Brazil, sparked by Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of 50% tariffs on all imports from Brazil.

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- YouTube

China and Japan under pressure from Trump's tariff threats

In this episode of Ian Bremmer’s World in :60, Ian breaks down the latest on US trade tensions, Iran’s nuclear program, and Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu.

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Graphic Truth: The BRICS+ in a "G-Zero" world

The BRICS, a loose grouping of ten “emerging market” economies led by Brazil, Russia, India and China, held their 17th annual summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this weekend. While the official readout from the summit emphasized their commitment to multilateralism, the guestlist begged to differ. Five of the 10 leaders were no-shows, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While the group’s declaration took aim at tariffs increases and recent attacks against Iran, it stopped short of mentioning the US or naming President Donald Trump directly. For more, here’s GZERO writer Willis Sparks’ explainer on why the BRICS are a bad bet.

Graphic Truth: Mexico and Brazil seek to boost trade ties

Mexico and Brazil are exploring ways to boost their trade ties, and there’s certainly room for improvement: bilateral commerce between Latin America’s two largest economies amounted to just $13.6 billion last year. That’s less than 10% of Brazil’s trade with China, and not even 2% of Mexico’s trade with the US. While the two countries have historically competed for dominance, the Trump administration’s latest tariffs and the election of left-wing leadership in both Brazil and Mexico have motivated closer cooperation.

Here’s a look at where trade between Brazil and Mexico currently stands.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One after departing early from the the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington, D.C., on June 17, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Why hasn’t US inflation boomed?

When US President Donald Trump announced a swath of tariffs on virtually every US trading partner on April 2 – which he dubbed “Liberation Day” – most economists had the same warning: prices will rise. What’s more, Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented migrants and his adviser’s idea to weaken the US dollar would add to the buoyant pressure on prices.

Exactly three months on, those inflation distress calls appear to have been misplaced: the inflation rate was 2.4% in May, within touching distance of the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and far below the rates seen in 2022 under former President Joe Biden – even with the dollar having its worst start to a year in over 50 years.

So why haven’t prices skyrocketed, as some economists warned?

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Graphic Truth: The Trump effect on Canada’s US-bound exports

The US-Canada relationship has hit new lows since US President Donald Trump took office in January. In the early weeks of his presidency, he not only threatened to annex Canada, but Trump also imposed hefty tariffs on key Canadian exports, including auto parts and metals, triggering a trade war across one of the most commercially integrated borders in the world. As a result, Canada’s exports to the US have plummeted by nearly 20% since Trump took office.

Here’s a look at how Canada’s southbound exports have evolved over the past decade.

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