Trump’s deliberations over his threatened reciprocal tariffs are coming down to the wire, with sources saying his team is still finalizing the size and scope of new levies he’s slated to unveil at 4 p.m. in Washington. The US president is expected to announce the most expansive trade restrictions in a century, at a stroke upending the postwar global trading system and posing difficult-to-predict economic risks. Israel is expanding military operations in Gaza, days after asking people in southern parts of the Palestinian territory to leave as it prepares for more intense fighting with Hamas. Defense Minister Israel Katz said troops will broaden ground incursions and land seized will be turned into buffer zones. People fleeing Rafah arrive in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. Photographer: Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered additional forces to the Middle East, including the Carl Vinson carrier group and aircraft. Washington has vowed to continue its strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels and tensions are rising with Tehran over its nuclear program. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday any attack by the US or Israel would be met with “a firm retaliatory strike.” A cross-party group of US senators introduced a sanctions package that would hit Russia and countries that buy its oil if Putin refuses to engage in good-faith ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine or breaches any eventual agreement, potentially giving Trump additional leverage in his quest for a peace deal. Ukraine meanwhile said it’s pressing ahead toward an “acceptable” economic accord with the US after Trump accused Kyiv of trying to renegotiate it. Marine Le Pen’s hopes of running for the 2027 French presidency were kept alive after an appeals court said it should be able to rule on a challenge to her conviction and election ban next year, much sooner than expected. Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement on Monday and given an immediate five-year ban on running for office. WATCH: The Paris court of appeals said it should be able to rule on Le Pen’s challenge to her conviction much sooner than expected. Kriti Gupta reports on Bloomberg TV. China conducted a second day of drills around Taiwan, adding to the unprecedented military pressure it’s applying to the government in Taipei and President Lai Ching-te. Trump will consider a proposal today for divesting TikTok’s US operations from Chinese parent ByteDance, sources say, just ahead of a deadline for a sale of the popular social media app. Musk’s candidate faced a resounding loss in a Wisconsin judicial race despite the world’s richest man pouring millions into the campaign, while Republicans avoided upsets in two critical US House seats in Florida. Myanmar’s military said it fired “warning shots” at a vehicle convoy from the Red Cross Society of China bringing aid to the central areas of the country devastated by Friday’s earthquake, which has killed more than 2,800 people. Trump’s tariff threats have sparked fears of a US recession and a global slowdown, as well as the end of a post-war order. How are governments preparing and how are markets reacting? Join us for a Live Q&A tomorrow, April 3 at 11 a.m. EDT. |