(1) President Trump’s Executive Orders
U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, 2025 and as of February 11, he has signed 63 executive orders, which is more than those signed by any recent President in their first one hundred days in office, even surpassing the number of executive orders he signed during his first term (33).
Mr. Trump’s executive orders cover a wide range of issues and topics; ranging from imposing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China and then pausing them until March 4 on the former two countries, to withdrawing from the Paris agreement, pauses on foreign aid, suppressing illegal immigration, and more. However, some orders have been wholly or partially blocked, or put on hold by courts.
Read more: Tracking U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders: Graphics
(2) Trump to announce 25% steel and aluminum tariffs
President Donald Trump said he will announce on Monday (February 10, 2025) that the United States will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later in the week.
Mr. Trump’s comments are the latest example of his willingness to threaten, and in some cases to impose, import taxes. Tariffs are coming much earlier in his presidency than during his previous four years in the White House, when he prioritized tax cuts and deregulation.
In 2024, the US imported a total of 26.2 million tonnes of steel mill products and 5.4 million tonnes of aluminum products, with Canada having the largest share, of 22.9% and 58.3%, respectively, in both, as shown in the graphic below.
(3) Trump announces reciprocal tariffs for imports into the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will impose reciprocal tariffs on imports from all countries into America in an effort to fix a trade system he calls unfair to the U.S.. The move was one of the talking points during his campaign, and a bid to ‘Make America Great Again.’
The broad idea is for the U.S. to match what India levies on its imports. While the exact tariffs imposed on products may vary after taking into account factors like government subsidies, other taxes and more, the average weighted tariff rates effectively applied to U.S. imports by the Indian government are higher than those applied by the U.S. for Indian imports across product groups. However, the U.S. imposes higher tariffs than India on some individual products. It is not yet clear whether the U.S. will impose tariffs with the criteria as an individual product or for product groups.
An SBI report and the Global Trade Research Initiative has said that the impact on India will be minimal due to strategies like export destination diversification, and the differences in what India and the U.S. export to each other. China might emerge as the winner if U.S. tariffs increase significantly as buyers look for an alternative country to import from.
(4) OpenAI board rejects Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion proposal
Last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed rival Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion bid, stating, “We are not for sale”, at an artificial intelligence summit in Paris. Musk’s bid, announced Monday, February 10, is the latest in a bitter years-long battle with Altman over control of the AI startup they both helped found a decade ago as a nonprofit and is now a leading force in the global boom surrounding generative AI technology.
But Altman alone cannot accept or reject the offer. OpenAI’s board needed to consider it too. On Friday, OpenAI said its board of directors had unanimously rejected the takeover bid by Musk. “OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition,” said a statement Friday from Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI’s board.
Musk, an early OpenAI investor, began a legal offensive against the ChatGPT maker nearly a year ago, suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good. Elon Musk’s lawyers faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday, February 4, as a federal judge weighed the billionaire’s request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a “stretch” for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn’t intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its transition from a nonprofit research laboratory to a for-profit corporation.
But the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldn’t stop the case from moving to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide.
(5) Fatalities in Congo rise as rebel attacks surges
Violence erupted in areas of Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast after a rebel faction (M23) took control of Goma city. Estimates of people who died in the clashes in January amount to 1,200 as per the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), but it can be as high as 2,900 as per the United Nations.
Conflict is not new to the restive region. Two factions – the Tutsis and Hutus – have been in conflict since the late 20th century. In neighbouring Rwanda, the Tutsis started out as the group who held top positions in monarchy, even though they were a minority compared to Hutus. This led to Hutu resentment and violence, triggering violence Tutsi pushback and resulting in the 1994 Rwandan genocide where several thousands were killed. This led to Hutus fleeing Rwanda into eastern DRC, where a minority Tutsi group grew apprehensive of the Hutu influx. This led to the M23 Tutsi group mounting attacks in the region to secure Tutsi interests.
The recent spate of violence, too, is concentrated in the country’s northeast, bordering Rwanda.
Besides ethnic tensions, the presence of minerals in the region make it an attractive choice for developing a stronghold.
Published – February 17, 2025 02:48 pm IST