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World politics

Yesterday

Apple has been given a huge reprieve in the tariff war.

Trump exempts smartphones from China tariffs in climbdown

The US administration’s move is the first sign of a softening of levies against China and provides a big boost for Apple and Nvidia.

This Month

Donald Trump’s tariffs escalate trad war with China, as Xi Jinping retaliates.

Could Trump’s tariffs decouple Europe from China, too?

The levies may trigger a strategic diversion of Chinese exports from America to the EU, eventually compelling European governments to respond with their own trade barriers.

There is no grand strategy underlying Trump’s plans.

There is no cunning theory behind Trump’s tariff plan

The White House cited my classmate’s economic research to justify its reciprocal tariffs – it got the maths wrong. But it gets worse.

A Minecraft Movie also topped the box office in China in its opening weekend.

China cuts Hollywood films in latest trade salvo

The move signals that Chinese President Xi Jinping could now be targeting American services in the escalating trade war.

The president lifted on Thursday (Friday AEST) taxes even further on small packages from China that were previously not taxed.

Trump sees transition costs after confirming 145pc China tariffs

The levies have surged to a level far above what many economists have said could decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.

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Europe could end up more like 1980s Qld than 1930s Germany

There’s a problem with being on the lookout for a rerun of the 1930s: you could miss what’s actually happening.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan in 2019.

Trump and Xi are locked in a stand-off. Neither wants to blink first

The US hiked tariffs on China, just hours after Beijing did the same. The move endangers both economies and interests around the world.

Donald Trump is focusing his trade ire on China.

Trump backs down in global trade war but hits China

The president stunned global investors by announcing a 90-day pause in additional tariffs on most countries, but ramping up levies on China.

China has hit back at Trump’s tariffs quickly.

Defiant China escalates trade war, raises tariffs on US goods to 84pc

Beijing slapped another 50 per cent tariff on all American imports in direct response to Donald Trump ramping up levies on Chinese goods.

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington.

Trump mocks world leaders as huge new tariffs take effect

The president’s aggressive levies on America’s largest trading partners were introduced at 2pm AEST, even as he touted potential deals with some allies.

‘The tsunami is coming’: China’s exports are just getting started

A staggering $3.1 trillion in extra industrial lending is fuelling a continued flood of exports that could be spread even wider across the world by the Trump tariffs.

President Donald Trump with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington.

Clock ticks on Keir Starmer’s cautious Trump strategy

The UK prime minister set himself apart from most other European leaders by taking a pragmatic approach to the US that detractors have accused of being fawning.

The White House was last week forced to hose down Politico and ABC reports that Donald Trump had told members of his cabinet that Elon Musk would soon depart and return to the private sector.

Musk splits with Trump on tariffs, wants US-EU free trade zone

The billionaire and presidential adviser told Italy’s League party that he’d like America and Europe to move “to a zero-tariff situation”.

A “Make America Go Away” baseball cap has become a global symbol of resistance.

The anti-MAGA hat goes global

The very success of the MAGA hat as a symbol of political allegiance has also made it an effective weapon of the opposition, at least internationally.

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen in Nuuk.

Greenland embraces Danish PM after Vance’s disastrous visit

Mette Frederiksen was cheered upon her arrival in the Danish overseas territory, a visit that shows solidarity in the face of repeated US take-over threats.

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Donald Trump

Trump open to tariff cuts in return for ‘phenomenal’ offers

The president broadly defended his sweeping tariff program despite a massive sell-off in the sharemarket, saying the economic turbulence would settle.

A protest against impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol outside the court in Seoul.

South Korea’s president ousted over martial law fiasco

The constitutional court removed Yoon Suk Yeol from office four months after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law sparked a prolonged political crisis.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was strong support for AUKUS in Trump’s Administration.

Why Malcolm Turnbull is wrong about AUKUS

Rather than repeatedly reassessing the submarine program, we should concentrate our political and intellectual capital on ensuring it stays the course.

The president is preparing for his next tariff move.

Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to take immediate effect, says White House

The president is set to roll out global tariffs on US trading partners at an event at the White House at 7am AEDT on Thursday.

This image released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense shows China’s Shandong aircraft carrier sailing near Taiwan on Monday.

China holds military exercises around Taiwan in fresh warning

Warships and fighter planes practiced drills, in what Beijing said was a warning to Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/world-politics-ho1