This Month
Trump adds ‘secondary tariffs’ to trade armoury
Countries could face 25 per cent tariffs on trade with the US if they purchase oil and gas from Venezuela, which is already under heavy US sanctions.
Billion-dollar US levies on Chinese ships risk ‘trade apocalypse’
Plans by the Office of the US Trade Representative aimed at curbing China’s dominance of shipbuilding and logistics is sending shock waves around the world.
Friendly fire hits Australian universities
Local universities are caught up in Donald Trump’s culture wars. But the threat is partly home-grown and self-inflicted.
Trump invokes wartime powers to boost critical minerals production
The president signed the executive order in an attempt to wean the country off essential resources from China.
EU’s Apple and Google ruling risks Trump’s ire
The search giant has been told to stop forcing users on to its apps, while the phone maker must make it easier for rivals’ headsets and smartwatches to sync with its devices.
Pentagon says operation targeting Yemen’s Houthis is open-ended
The Pentagon said US forces had struck more than 30 Houthi targets since Saturday, including command-and-control and training sites and drone infrastructure.
How Trump plans to use an ‘autopen’ conspiracy to overturn laws
The president claimed multiple pardons issued by Joe Biden were void because he used a robotpen, embracing a baseless right-wing theory.
Reality bites critical-minerals hopes
Australia’s ambition of processing critical minerals is still mostly a dream, and one that won’t persuade Donald Trump to withhold tariffs on our exports.
February
Trump revels in mass firings before adoring crowd
The US president clicked easily back into campaign mode during his hour-plus speech at CPAC, predicting the GOP will continue to win and defy history.
Russian wealth fund sees US companies returning in 2025
Some in Russia think economic ties will soon be resumed following the most senior US-Russia meeting this week on the Ukraine war since it began.
Australia still betting on rare earths
The Albanese government hoped for a new resources boom in new critical minerals projects and processing. There’s been a hard reckoning since, but the dream still lives for Iluka Resources and others.
Musk’s team seeks access to Americans’ sensitive tax data
The White House said the billionaire’s DOGE team wanted to gain access to the Inland Revenue Service’s systems.
This US senator stole Joe Hockey’s boots. Now they’ve joined forces
Joe Manchin says Australia will always be a valued ally even if it does not feel that way in the frenzied early days of Donald Trump.
Trump even signs order for ‘back to plastic’ straws
The US president has said “I don’t think that plastic is going to affect the shark very much as they’re … munching their way through the ocean”.
Trump lumps allies in with enemies in tariff chaos
US tariffs on steel and aluminium look likely to embroil Australia. What’s an under-pressure Anthony Albanese to do when a president doesn’t care about impact on allies?
Reality will bite Trump’s big dreams in Gaza
The US president’s vision of the US taking over Gaza and turning it into a peaceful, prosperous property development project is a fantasy.
January
Trump to use Guantanamo Bay prison to house migrants
The president said a major new facility at the naval base could hold 30,000 deportees in his latest tough move cracking down on immigration.
Judge blocks Trump’s spending freeze in day of chaos
The judge halted the president’s plan to freeze hundreds of billions of dollars in payments to federal programs just minutes before it was set to take effect.
‘Our job is war fighting’: Trump moves to end DEI in military
The president signed executives orders outlining new rollbacks in diversity programs and banning transgender troops.
Australia must face down US tech bosses and Trump
Global tech giants will still be powerful when Trump is not. Policy settings made today by Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton need to keep that future in mind.