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Why Trump Is Imposing Tariffs on Mexico
President Trump on Saturday ordered 25 percent tariffs on all Mexican exports to the United States and a similar levy on all Canadian goods, except for a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy. His move sent shock waves through both nations, whose leaders have warned that the tariffs will harm all three countries and disrupt their deeply interwoven economies.
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump had vowed to impose punitive tariffs on Mexican and Canadian exports on Feb. 1, to force the two countries to better secure their borders against the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs.
The tariffs target the United States’ closest neighbors and key trading partners. Mexico became the United States’ largest trading partner last year, exporting a variety of goods, including automobiles and avocados, while Canada is the largest foreign supplier of crude oil to the United States.
Mexican officials have criticized the tariffs, arguing that they will not only harm Mexico’s economy, but will also hurt U.S. companies that have production plants in Mexico, including General Motors and Ford. American consumers are also likely to see higher prices for fruits, vegetables and other products.
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said on Friday that the country was “prepared for any scenario.” She has suggested that Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own.
Here is what to know about the tariffs:
Why is Trump imposing tariffs on Mexico?
Mr. Trump placed Mexico and the U.S. southern border at the center of his presidential campaign, railing against record levels of undocumented immigrants entering the United States, as well as the movement of fentanyl into the country. (Border crossings are currently at significantly lower than the record levels in 2023.)
Mr. Trump accused Mexico of allowing a “mass migration invasion” into the United States, claiming that this had brought “crime, and drugs,” crushed wages and overwhelmed school systems.
It is not the first time Mr. Trump has used tariffs as a strategy to achieve policy objectives involving immigration.
During his first term, he threatened to impose taxes on Mexican products to pressure the country’s president at the time, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, into cracking down on migration.
As a result, Mexico deployed National Guard officers across the country to take on illegal immigration and agreed to the expansion of a program that allowed migrants seeking asylum in the United States to remain in Mexico while their legal cases proceeded.
What has Mexico done to counter the flow of immigrants over the U.S. border?
Mexico has significantly increased immigration enforcement in recent years, particularly during the Biden administration. It has added hundreds of immigration checkpoints across the country, including along once-deserted sections of the border, conducted inspections on commercial bus routes and drastically increased detentions.
To deter people from reaching border cities like Tijuana, a top migrant entry point near San Diego, Mexican authorities raided hotels and safe houses, increased security at official crossings and installed new border checkpoints where migrants were passing through a gap in a wall.
Mexico also moved migrants away from the border, using chartered flights and buses to drop large numbers of people in southern cities like Villahermosa. The strategy contributed to a plunge in apprehensions of people trying to cross along the southern border at the start of last year.
The government also introduced bureaucratic obstacles for migrants trying to make it to the United States. At one point, it stopped issuing documents that allowed migrants and refugees to stay in Mexico.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, alluded to these actions this past week when she said the Trump administration had seen “a historic level of cooperation from Mexico” on border security.
What has Mexico done to control the trafficking of fentanyl?
Ms. Sheinbaum has taken a far tougher line than her predecessor in cracking down on the criminal groups involved in the fentanyl trade.
Mr. López Obrador prioritized tackling the social and economic root causes of drug crime over enforcement actions. But during Ms. Sheinbaum’s first four months in office, Mexican security forces have conducted major seizures of fentanyl and stepped up operations to locate and destroy clandestine fentanyl laboratories. Security forces have also targeted key members of the Sinaloa cartel, the powerful criminal organization largely responsible for the fentanyl pouring over the southern border.
In December, Mexican security forces seized more than a ton of fentanyl, the equivalent of more than 20 million doses of fentanyl pills, in what Ms. Sheinbaum described as “the largest mass seizure of fentanyl pills ever made.”
Mexico’s security minister, Omar García Harfuch, announced this past week that since Ms. Sheinbaum took office on Oct. 1, more than 10,000 people had been arrested on serious criminal charges, including homicide. Mexican authorities also have seized 90 tons of drugs, including more than 1.3 tons of fentanyl, and destroyed more than 139 laboratories, Mr. Garcia Harfuch said.
Some of the most decisive efforts to curb rampant violence have focused on the state of Sinaloa, where rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel have turned the state into a war zone after Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, a top leader of the cartel, was lured onto a plane under false pretenses and sent to the United States, where he is under indictment.
Though there is no evidence that these enforcement actions have made a significant dent in the Sinaloa cartel’s production abilities, analysts say that it has sent a clear message about Mexico’s commitment to make good on Mr. Trump’s demands.
“There are thousands of clandestine fentanyl kitchens in Sinaloa alone, and the drug is so immensely profitable the cartel is not just going to hand it over to the authorities,” said Eduardo Guerrero, a Mexican security analyst.
“But the important thing was to show that Mexico is working harder and faster and making good in this promise to produce results,” he added.
Mexico has also recently passed a constitutional reform to prohibit the production, distribution and sale of chemical precursors needed to manufacture fentanyl. It has also increased laws around offenses related to fentanyl.
What has Mexico told Mr. Trump about its efforts?
After Mr. Trump’s victory, Ms. Sheinbaum said he should consider what Mexico has done to curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration.
In a letter to Mr. Trump, Ms. Sheinbaum said a “comprehensive” migration policy to care for migrants arriving in Mexico from different countries and seeking to reach the United States had led to a 75 percent drop in encounters along the United States-Mexico border from December 2023 to November 2024.
Half of the migrants who arrived in the United States entered with a legal appointment to claim asylum since the United States introduced an app that allowed migrants to make those appointments, she added. (The Trump administration has shut down the app-based entry program.)
“For these reasons, migrant caravans no longer arrive at the border,” she said.
Ms. Sheinbaum, in the same letter, reiterated Mexico’s “willingness to prevent the fentanyl epidemic” from continuing to take a toll in the United States, and highlighted enforcement actions that resulted in the seizure of tons of synthetic drugs.
Robert Carradine, the youngest of his prolific Hollywood family and whose biggest hit was the 1984 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds,” has died at 71.
In a Tuesday statement to news outlets, his family said he lived with bipolar disorder for two decades and died by suicide.
“We want people to know it, and there is no shame in it,” his brother Keith Carradine told Deadline. “It is an illness that got the best of him, and I want to celebrate him for his struggle with it, and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was profoundly gifted, and we will miss him every day.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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Known for both his film and television work, Robert Carradine worked steadily in the industry for over 40 years. Though he collaborated with some of the most respected directors of the day, he never gained the worldwide recognition of his more famous siblings Keith Carradine (also the father of Martha Plimpton) and half-brother David Carradine, who died in 2009.
Robert Carradine, a Los Angeles native and son to character actor John Carradine, was introduced to audiences with roles on the television series “Bonanza” in 1971 and in the John Wayne Western “The Cowboys” in 1972.
Despite his family background, acting wasn’t his first calling, though.
“I always had a passion to be a race car driver, and that’s what I thought I was going to do, and at some penultimate moment … I think I was sitting with my brother David when ‘The Cowboys’ was being cast, and they were interested in David as the bad guy, and he didn’t want to be the guy that shot John Wayne in the back,” Carradine recalled in a 2013 interview with Popdose. “But he said, ‘You know, it is called The Cowboys, and they’re meeting all these young guys. Why don’t you go in?’”
In addition to starring in a short-lived television spinoff of “The Cowboys,” and appearing alongside David Carradine in his popular ABC series “Kung Fu,” he would go on to nab roles in Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets,” Hal Ashby’s Vietnam drama “Coming Home,” and Samuel Fuller’s World War II film “The Big Red One.”
The heights of his brother David’s success eluded Robert Carradine, but the two could often be seen in the same projects, including in Walter Hill’s “The Long Riders” and Paul Bartel’s “Cannonball.”
Robert Carradine’s biggest hit would come in 1984 with the off-color comedy “Revenge of the Nerds,” in which he played head nerd Lewis Skolnick, with his abrupt, infectious and guttural laugh. He reprised the role for the big-screen sequel and two made-for-television follow-ups, and continued to pay homage to the beloved character with a guest role on the series “Robot Chicken” and as a co-host (with “Revenge of the Nerds” co-star Curtis Armstrong) of the pop culture competition show “King of the Nerds,” which aired for three seasons.
In the 2000s, Carradine gained small-screen success in The Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire” as the eponymous character’s father.
“It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend,” Hilary Duff, who played Lizzie McGuire, wrote on Instagram. “There was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I’ll be forever grateful for that. I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering.”
Work remained consistent even if the projects diminished in prestige and quality. Then Quentin Tarantino, ever the champion of fading character actors, cast Carradine in “Django Unchained” as one of the trackers in the 2012 film after seeing a “very furry” photograph, as Carradine told Popdose.
In 2015, Carradine was cited for a Colorado crash that injured him and his wife, Edith. They later divorced, after more than 25 years of marriage.
Carradine’s survivors include his three children, actor Ever Carradine, Marika Reed Carradine and Ian Alexander Carradine.
“Whenever anyone asks me how I turned out so normal, I always tell them it’s because of my dad. I knew my dad loved me, I knew it deep in my bones, and I always knew he had my back,” Ever Carradine wrote on Instagram. “I think it’s partly because we basically grew up together. Twenty years age difference really isn’t that much, and while I never ever thought of him as a sibling, I did always think of him as my partner. We were in it together.”
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A new study aims to jolt Israel’s security and technology establishment into embracing a new post-Oct. 7, 2023, business model that will advance the U.S.-Israel strategic partnership in the heart of the Middle East and across the globe.
The Henry Jackson Society study titled “Israel 2048: A Blueprint for a Rising Asymmetric Geopolitical Power” jumps into the future, with a view toward advancing American and Israeli security interests.
Co-author of the report, Barak M. Seener, told Fox News Digital that America requires Israel for “its security architecture in the region via the Abraham Accords and, more broadly, will be a force multiplier regarding the technological edge against China.”
During President Donald Trump’s first term, his administration sealed diplomatic normalization deals between Sunni Gulf and North African countries: Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan and Israel.
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Seener and co-author David Wurmser argue that there is a pressing need to reframe the U.S.–Israel strategic partnership “around technology,” and “shift from military aid dependency towards joint R&D and investment in shared technological platforms in defence-tech, AI, quantum computing and next generational warfare capabilities.”
They wrote, “Israel must prioritize passing negotiated regulations for technology sharing to prevent AI/ quantum technology leakage to China.”
Seener noted that the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy (released in January) describes Israel as a strategic military partner. “That has never happened before.”
He continued, “Israel is not only achieving regional dominance but international power by connecting trade routes and digital connectivity. Israel simply cannot remain in a purely defensive posture and hunker down and react to threats on its borders.”
President Donald Trump bids farewell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the White House after a meeting on April 7, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Seener said following Israel’s successful air war campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran in June 2025, “America now wants to be part of this success story. “
He argues that President Donald Trump entered on the side of Israel with military attacks because “Israel demonstrated intelligence acumen and military prowess. For the first time, America joined Israel” in the prosecution of a war.
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Consequently, Seener said Israel’s “defense technology makes it indispensable for nations.”
Seener and Wurmser’s 51-page study contains granular information on how the U.S. can strengthen American security and recommend embedding “Israel as a defense-tech and deep-tech power that is indispensable to Western security and global technological competition in supply chains for AI, semiconductors, missile defense, cyber capabilities and critical materials. Israel’s technological dominance must be leveraged to anchor alliances and shape global supply chains.”
This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows an Israeli Air Force fighter jet firing flares as it flies to intercept a hostile aircraft over the border area with south Lebanon on Aug. 25, 2024. (Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)
The wobbliness of America’s European partners is also highlighted to show the need for Israel to “Accelerate domestic lines of production of critical military systems, munitions and energy infrastructure to reduce vulnerability to foreign political pressure such as Europe’s growing ambivalence, coupled with episodic constraints on arms transfers,” according to the authors.
Earlier this month, Britain’s left-leaning government reportedly denied the U.S. military’s use of British bases to strike Iran.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, recently visited Israel as the official guest of Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of the general staff. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit.)
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Israel is uniquely positioned to help regenerate relations among Western powers, the study notes. According to the authors, there is an opportunity to “use Israel’s defense-tech, quantum computing, AI and cyber capabilities as a tool of statecraft to deepen alliances, deter political isolation and strengthen influence in Europe, the Gulf and Asia.”
Seener said, “Israel is not a superpower but a geopolitical power that gives nations a force multiplier, and they benefit from Israel as a tech defense nation.”
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British politician Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after detectives questioned him for hours over the alleged leaking of sensitive government information to the late convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, while a government minister in the early 2000s.
The former United Kingdom ambassador to Washington was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Tuesday. His arrest followed the detention of Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was also questioned over similar misconduct linked to Epstein.
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The Epstein revelations have triggered investigations and resignations in Europe, but the fallout has been muted in the United States.
How have the Epstein files affected British politics?
The developments mark one of the sharpest reversals in recent British political life. Only months ago, Mandelson held one of the most senior (and coveted) diplomatic roles in the country.
He has since lost his post, faced a police raid at his home and now confronts the possibility of criminal charges. He has been forced to step down from the House of Lords, the unelected upper chamber of the UK parliament, and could be stripped of his title.
If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson as British ambassador – a move made while his popularity has plunged – triggered the resignation of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and has raised questions about whether he can see out his term.
The scandal has also engulfed the royal family. After Andrew was arrested for leaking sensitive reports during his time as British trade envoy – the first arrest of a senior royal in centuries – King Charles III said “the law must take its course.”
British royal biographer Andrew Lownie, who interviewed the late Virginia Giuffre – who accused Epstein of forcing her to have sex with Prince Andrew three times when she was 17 – has warned that the fallout could also “bring down King Charles”, as scrutiny intensifies over what he knew about his brother’s conduct.
The cases form part of a broader European response to newly released troves of Epstein-related documents from the US.
Across the continent, authorities have opened investigations, and several public figures have stepped down or lost positions.
What’s happened in Europe?
France has also moved. Former Culture Minister Jack Lang resigned from his role leading a Paris cultural institution after the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs sought to question him over contacts with Epstein.
In Norway, former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland has been charged with “gross corruption” following disclosures that he stayed at Epstein’s properties in New York and Florida and visited his private island, as well as having the late sex offender cover his expenses and those of his family. He faces up to a decade in prison if convicted.
Norway’s ambassador to Jordan, Mona Juul, also resigned after reports that Epstein left $10m to her children in his will.
Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway apologised after documents showed she had holidayed at one of Epstein’s properties.
In Slovakia, national security adviser Miroslav Lajcak stepped down after disclosures about his association with Epstein surfaced. Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed he accepted the resignation.
For many in Europe, simply appearing in the files has triggered public scrutiny, investigations or resignations.
Governments have treated the document releases as grounds for formal inquiry, even when criminal liability remains unclear.
Why has there been less of a fallout in the United States?
In the US, public anger has simmered for years. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie have led a bipartisan effort to release the files, using the term “Epstein class” to describe a wealthy elite who believe themselves to be above the law.
Yet criminal accountability beyond Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell has remained limited. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking offences.
FBI documents identify eight alleged co-conspirators, including the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret, Lex Wexner, Epstein’s former secretary Lesley Groff and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in custody in France.
None, apart from Maxwell, has faced a US criminal conviction in connection with Epstein’s trafficking case.
The lack of accountability has spanned Democratic and Republican presidents.
Epstein first avoided federal prosecution in 2007-08 through a controversial non-prosecution agreement reached during the administration of George W Bush.
Subsequent administrations under Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s first terms and Joe Biden did not bring sweeping new prosecutions tied to the broader network named in the files.
There is no sign that any prosecutions are under way, despite Congress forcing Trump to release the files.
Who has been affected in the US?
Several prominent Americans have stepped back from roles or faced reputational damage.
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers took leave from academic duties at Harvard University after scrutiny over his ties to Epstein.
Lawyer Brad Karp resigned as chair of the law firm Paul Weiss. The National Football League said it would review correspondence between Epstein and New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch.
Longevity specialist and high-profile physician Peter Attia issued an apology and resigned from his role as chief science officer at David Protein over emails exchanged with Epstein. He also stepped down as a CBS News contributor.
Others named in communications with Epstein have not faced formal charges.
Among them are former White House strategist Steve Bannon, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and technology billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he never visited Epstein’s island despite discussing the possibility in emails.
Former President Bill Clinton has testified before Congress regarding his friendship with Epstein.
Trump, who also knew Epstein for years and appears thousands of times in the released documents, has denied wrongdoing, as has the White House.
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