Markets dive on trade-war concerns, Trump sticks it to Ukraine and Idaho women who need emergency abortion access — plus notes on the week ahead
Happy Sunday, and thanks for joining us at the end of Week Seven of Trump’s second term. Here are some key moments of the week that was, how what happened hurts us — and what to expect next:
What Just Happened: Trump Versus … 🤔
Our Wallets
- A move to make goods from Canada and Mexico — America’s biggest trading partners — more expensive in the U.S. blew up in the Trump administration’s face. Tariffs, or import taxes, of up to 25% on our immediate neighbors hit U.S. stock markets hard. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below its early 2025 level.
New: The S&P 500 erased its post-election gain, wiping out $3.4 trillion in value
— Bloomberg News (@bloomberg.com) March 4, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Facing retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico on U.S. goods, Trump announced a one-month suspension of his new import fees on March 6. Executives from the Detroit Three automakers also lobbied Trump for exemptions from the sanctions, and they succeeded. However, the White House still creates uncertainty about the president’s plans to impact trade with America’s neighbors. As a result, the threat of losing American jobs and industry remains.
he’s intentionally trying to inject as much uncertainty as possible
*TRUMP ON CANADA: WE MAY DO MORE TARIFFS TODAY
*TRUMP ON CANADA: MAY CHARGE THEM WHAT THEY CHARGE US
*TRUMP ON CANADA TARIFFS: MAY DO TODAY, OR ON MONDAY OR TUESDAY
*TRUMP: MAY DO RECIPROCAL TARIFFS AS EARLY AS TODAY OR MONDAY— George Pearkes (@peark.es) March 7, 2025 at 12:06 PM
In a little-reported move, the Social Security Administration attempted to end a program in place since the late 1980s that allowed new parents to fill out a form at the hospital where their babies are born to register for a Social Security card. The directive would only have applied to Maine and would have required parents to visit a regional Social Security office in person in order to register their child. After health care providers complained it was burdensome and would make it LESS efficient for families, the SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek reversed course and apologized. (h/t to Maine paper Portland Press-Herald for the scoop)
Taken together with the announcement that Elon Musk’s DOGE team is looking to close several of the regional Social Security offices, the blow to government efficiency and ability to help American citizens could have been profound.
What in the world?! I think *this* is the story that’s gonna break my brain.
www.pressherald.com/2025/03/06/s…
— Kathleen Romig (@kathleenromig.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Our Leadership
Trump followed up on his stormy meeting last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by escalating his attacks on our ally. The president suspended the shipment of billions of dollars of weapons set aside by Congress for Ukraine to use in its fight against the Russian invasion.