Tariffs, An ICE “Mistake,” and a Meeting w/ Netanyahu

Welcome back to Politics Explained! This week, we’ll go over Trump’s tariffs and their implications on the economy, ICE deportations, and a meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. 

As discussed last week, the announcement of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs plummeted the stock market, raising worries of a recession. However, Trump recently announced that he’s decided to back off, giving the tariffs a 90 day pause to most countries. This pause still includes a baseline 10% tariff on all countries. An exception to this pause is China, whose tariffs have been brought to an astounding 145%. According to Bloomberg, around $10 trillion was lost globally this past Thursday, Friday, and Monday. The S&P 500* suffered its worst four-day losses since its creation in the 50s. 

A Maryland father was unlawfully and mistakenly deported to a mega prison in El Salvador. 29 year old Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who held the status of “withholding from removal” from an immigrant judge in 2019, was accused of being part of MS-13, an international gang. The grounds on which Garcia was accused, however, had no substance, and a district court judge ordered he be returned to the US immediately. The Trump Administration responded saying there was nothing they could do about it. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Garcia, ordering the Trump Administration to bring him back to his wife and kids who live in the States. 

This past week, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met. They discussed Trump’s vision of developing Gaza, which would require the displacement of those who live there and US control over the land. Netanyahu said he was serious about the idea, but would first like to discover the option of “voluntary” removal of Palestinians. 

*Definition of the Week (S&P 500): a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.