Weekly News Recap - 11.04.2025
All the news you've missed this week: Trump's tariff chaos, a new coalition for Germany, and fading Ukraine negotiations.
Trump caves to market pressure, pauses most tariffs
In a stunning turn, President Trump announced that he would pause his steep reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.
The move came as a surprise after Trump and his team insisted that they would not back down just a day earlier. Some analysts credit the collapse in US-Bonds (usually a safe heaven for investments) for Trump's decision to pause most tariffs.
But even with the new pause, Trump showed no signs of abandoning his tariff policy. He escalated the trade war with China, raising tariffs to 145%. China quickly retaliated with a tariff rate of 125%. Trump's worldwide 10% baseline tariff remains in place, as well as his tariffs against car & steel imports.
Trump's approval rating seems to suffer from the tariff chaos, with his net approval dipping to -5% (from -2%) in just a week. It’s a new record low for his 2nd term.
Ukraine Peace Agreement seems far away
While tariff chaos dominates the news worldwide, the war in Ukraine rages on. Peace talks have been pushed aside as Russia continues its attacks while delaying negotiations. In the meantime, Putin’s army has been gaining ground in eastern Ukraine, advancing slowly towards Sumy city.
Ukraine claims to have captured Chinese nationals in their fight against Russia, raising questions about whether China is supporting Russia with soldiers. China’s government has denied any involvement.
US Supreme Court says government must work to return mistakenly deported man
In a unanimous ruling, the US Supreme Court said that the Trump Administration must facilitate the return of a 29-year-old man it deported to El Salvador’s high security prison by mistake.
The man was accused to be a Venezuelan gang member. The only evidence, however, was that he was wearing a hat and hoodie with the logo of the Chicago Bulls (a popular basketball team). The deportation agents saw the basketball hat and hoodie as enough evidence to send the man to El Salvador, in an action that a federal judge said “shocks the conscience.”
The decision by America’s highest court now instructs the government to bring the man back home to his family in the US. The court did, however, stop short of ordering the government to return the man, likely to avoid a constitutional crisis if Trump refuses to oblige. But Trump's team is even refusing the order to release any information about the steps it is taking to return the man from El Salvador, setting up a clash between the judicial and executive branches.
The administration's deportations of individuals to El Salvador’s prison without due process have also been stopped in federal court, awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court.
Germany: SPD & CDU agree to form coalition
After weeks of difficult talks, the center-right CDU, who won the federal election, and the SPD (social democrats) agreed to form a coalition.
Both parties seek to bring stability to the country after months of political uncertainty and vow to bring a struggling economy back on its feet.
CDU-leader Merz is poised to be elected Chancellor in a few weeks, succeeding SPD-chancellor Olaf Scholz. Merz has a difficult task ahead as his party already dropped several points in the polls after broken campaign promises and are now tied with the AFD.