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EU, Canada Impose Tariffs & Russia Strikes Ukraine | Afternoon Update | 3.12.25
Wed, 12 Mar 2025
The EU and Canada move to counter Trump’s tariffs, Russia strikes Zelensky’s hometown hours after Ukraine agrees to a ceasefire, and Greenland elects new leadership. Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire.Old Glory Bank: Go to https://oldglorybank.com/wire today to open your account and put your money in the hands of people you can ACTUALLY trust.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this Afternoon Update episode?
The EU and Canada move to counter Trump's tariffs, Russia strikes Zelensky's hometown hours after Ukraine agrees to a ceasefire, and Greenland elects new leadership. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, March 12th, and this is your Morning Wire Afternoon Update.
Both Canada and the EU will impose their own counter-tariffs in response to Trump's recent 25% steel and aluminum tariffs. Daily Wire Deputy Managing Editor Tim Rice has more.
Chapter 2: How are Canada and the EU responding to Trump's tariffs?
Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc says their 25% counter-tariffs, which take effect tomorrow, will hit nearly $30 billion in U.S. goods, including computers, sports equipment, and cast iron products.
Chapter 3: What are the specifics of the EU's counter-tariffs?
Earlier in the day, the European Union also imposed counter tariffs on the United States, targeting things like textiles, home appliances, agricultural products, and iconic American products like bourbon, peanut butter, and jeans. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the U.S. tariffs disruptive and warned of rising prices and job losses.
We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geoeconomic and political uncertainties, It is not in our common interest to burden our economies with such tariffs. We are ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue. I have entrusted Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to resume his talks to explore better solutions with the United States.
As of right now, the EU tariffs are set to take effect April 1st, with additional duties set to hit the US on April 13th. Meanwhile, Britain is holding off on its own tariffs, but says it will continue to press for a deal.
Chapter 4: What is the status of the stopgap funding bill?
A stopgap funding bill now heads to the Senate after narrowly passing the House. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the latest.
The vote landed at 217 to 213 with nearly all Republicans backing the measure. The bill extends government funding through September 30th. And while most Democrats opposed it, Congressman Jared Golden of Maine voted in the affirmation. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Thomas Massey voted against the measure, setting off a heated feud with President Trump.
Trump criticized Massey and vowed to lead a primary challenge against him. Massey, who has survived Trump-backed challenges before, said that the threats wouldn't change his vote. Democrats claim the bill threatens health care and veterans' benefits, but Speaker Mike Johnson says it contains no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security.
Democrats could still filibuster the bill, potentially triggering a shutdown this weekend.
Chapter 5: What bill is Kansas Senator Roger Marshall reintroducing?
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall is reintroducing a bill to ban federal funding for gender transition procedures. The End Taxpayer Funding of Gender Experimentation Act aligns with Trump's executive order and prohibits federal health care providers from offering such treatment.
Critics argue that the bill targets transgender individuals, while supporters say it protects children from permanent life-altering procedures. Morning Wire spoke to Senator Marshall. Here's what he said about the bill.
The stopping taxpayer funding of gender experimentation puts into law what President Trump has done in executive order. So we stop all federal funding of transition surgeries as well as transitional hormones. Stopping the VA from doing it, stopping the armed forces from doing it as well, the Department of Defense, let alone the Medicaid folks as well.
Marshall points to polling data that shows that Americans oppose taxpayer dollars funding gender transitions. The bill has several Republican co-sponsors and support from conservative organizations like Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom.
Russia launched a deadly missile strike on Ukraine, hitting President Zelensky's hometown just hours after Ukraine agreed to the U.S. proposed ceasefire. The attack killed a 47-year-old woman and injured at least nine others, damaging apartment buildings, infrastructure, and businesses. Other areas saw overnight strikes as well, wounding many.
The Trump-backed ceasefire proposal calls for a 30-day halt in fighting, but Moscow has yet to respond. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the ball now lies in Russia's court.
The president's objective here is, number one, above everything else, he wants the war to end. And I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate.
A state farm executive has been fired after being secretly recorded discussing a rate hike for California homeowners recovering from wildfires. Here's a bit from the video.
We've got like maybe $5 billion that we're short. If something happens, we'll go to the Department of Insurance and say, we're overexposed here. You have to let us catch up our rate. And they'll say... Because the Department of Insurance and the insurance commissioner is in an elected position. You'll say, nah. And we'll say, okay, then we are going to cancel these policies.
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