A day of significant global developments is underway, as President Donald Trump prepares to unleash a new front in his trade war, Taiwan’s president makes a direct and public appeal for US support, and the British government gets an unexpected lifeline from the very inflation that is plaguing its citizens.
Here’s your one-stop stand to catch up on all the headlines you may have missed.
Trump is imposing a new 25 percent tariff on all large truck imports
In a significant escalation of his effort to protect US companies, President Donald Trump has announced that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks imported into the United States will face a 25 percent tariff starting November 1.
The move, which Trump says is necessary to protect manufacturers from “unfair outside competition” on national security grounds, will impact everything from delivery trucks to school buses.
The US Chamber of Commerce has urged the administration not to impose the tariffs, noting that the top five import sources are all US allies, with Mexico being the largest exporter of such vehicles to the country.
Elon Musk names a former Morgan Stanley banker as the new CFO of xAI
Elon Musk has appointed a former Morgan Stanley executive, Anthony Armstrong, as the new chief financial officer of his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, the Financial Times reported.
Armstrong, an ally who helped Musk complete his 44 billion dollar acquisition of Twitter, will also helm the finance department at the social media service X.
The appointment is a crucial move for xAI, which was valued at 200 billion dollars last month and is reportedly losing 1 billion dollars per month as it spends aggressively to keep pace in the heated AI arms race.
Taiwan’s president publicly urges Trump to continue supporting the island
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has made a direct and public appeal to Donald Trump to continue supporting the self-governing democracy, amid mounting concerns that the US president could sacrifice the island’s interests in order to engage with Beijing.
“If Taiwan is annexed, China will become even more powerful in competing with the US on the global stage and altering the rules-based international order,” Lai said on a conservative radio show.
Ultimately, this will also impact America’s own national interests.
The plea underscores the tricky situation facing Taiwan, as the Trump administration has recently expressed skepticism about foreign entanglements and has reportedly declined to approve a major military aid package for the island.
Sticky UK inflation is set to give the Chancellor a rare £5 billion budget lifeline
In an ironic twist, the very inflation that is dragging down affordability for everyday Britons is set to provide a rare piece of good news for the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
According to a new analysis, by lifting the taxable value of incomes and profits, stubbornly high price rises will deliver a much-needed net £5 billion (6.7 billion dollars) boost to the government’s tax receipts.
This unexpected windfall could help the chancellor plug a projected multi-billion-pound budgetary black hole in the upcoming November 26 budget.
Ireland is set to deliver its toughest budget in years to counter Trump’s threats
The Irish government is preparing to deliver its toughest budget in years in a direct bid to shield its economy from the growing threat of declining investment from US firms.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe is expected to unveil an 11 billion dollar tax and spending package on Tuesday that will prioritize long-term capital investment over the one-off measures it has favored in recent years.
The “reset moment” is a direct response to President Trump’s vow to re-shore American profits and bring manufacturing jobs back to the US, a threat that poses an existential risk to an Irish economy that is heavily reliant on investment from American pharmaceutical and tech giants.
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