The President's Daily Brief
March 25th, 2025: Trump Pumps The Breaks On Tariffs & Chaos On The Streets In Turkey
Tue, 25 Mar 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: • The Trump administration pulls back on its sweeping tariff plan, narrowing the scope of the trade measures set to take effect April 2nd. • Massive protests erupt across Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor and key Erdogan rival, Ekrem Imamoglu. • Egypt offers a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza — and Hamas is reportedly on board. • In today’s Back of the Brief: China firmly denies reports it’s planning to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, calling the claims “completely untrue.” To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Stash Financial: Go to https://Get.Stash.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What changes are being made to Trump's tariff plan?
It's Tuesday, the 25th of March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. In today's spotlight, the Trump administration is dialing back its sweeping tariff plan. Remember that?
Originally set to take effect on the 2nd of April, the trade measures are now expected to target fewer nations and fewer sectors, with some potentially escaping the hit entirely. We'll have those details. Later in the show, widespread protests are rocking Turkey after the arrest of Istanbul's mayor and, coincidentally, Erdogan's top rival.
With unrest spilling into the streets for a fifth straight night, over 1,000 demonstrators have already been detained. Well, Erdogan's business motto is actually, if you can't beat them, arrest them and then beat them.
Plus, a new ceasefire proposal is on the table Egypt has put forward a plan to halt the fighting in Gaza And this time, Hamas is reportedly on board And in today's Back of the Brief An update to a story that we brought you yesterday China's foreign ministry is pushing back hard On claims that it plans to send troops to Ukraine As part of a peacekeeping force Calling the reports, quote, completely untrue But first, today's PDB Spotlight
We'll begin with an update on the global tariff war as the Trump administration signals they plan to significantly narrow the scope of previous planned levies to take effect next week. As a refresher, April 2nd has been touted by President Trump as America's, quote, Liberation Day. He was set to mark the moment that his administration imposed a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all U.S.
trading partners. as well as targeted duties of 25% on specific sectors, such as automobiles, lumber, and pharmaceuticals. Well, with just over a week to go before the big announcement, President Trump is walking back those threats. While White House officials say that the 2nd of April will still bring new global tariffs on a targeted set of U.S.
trading partners, they'll likely be far less harsh than previously thought, and that's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Instead of going after all U.S. trading partners, administration sources told the Journal that the focus will now be on the roughly 15 percent of nations with persistent trade imbalances. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant called this group the, quote, dirty 15.
It doesn't have quite the ring as the Dirty Dozen does it, which was a fantastic movie Anyway, while the White House has not issued an updated list of the targeted nations It will almost certainly include China, Taiwan, Japan, and a host of countries in the European Union But President Trump also teased Monday that certain nations may be granted exemptions And that the industry-specific tariffs will likely be shelved entirely for the time being
Meanwhile, the fate of the oft-delayed 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada, also set to take effect on the 2nd of April, remains uncertain. Speaking to reporters, Trump said, quote, I may give a lot of countries breaks. It's reciprocal, but we might be even nicer than that. He added that, quote, I'm embarrassed to charge them what they've charged us.
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Chapter 2: What is the situation with protests in Turkey?
But so far, Trump has largely shrugged off those concerns in public remarks, arguing that in the long term, tariffs will boost the government's coffers and help revitalize manufacturing in America. Still, his softer tone on Monday suggests the potential economic fallout of the policies is being taken more seriously behind closed doors. But he's not backing down entirely.
Separate from the potential reciprocal tariffs, Trump announced on Monday that he'll charge a 25% tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela. Unlike his broader tariff agenda, this economic penalty appears designed to increase pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, as well as China, which is the country's largest buyer of crude oil exports.
The tariff will add to existing duties, meaning that China will now be facing 45% tariffs on certain goods traded with America. Crude futures jumped slightly on the news, and analysts said the measure would likely trigger a short-term rise in the price of oil, though the impact is not expected to be too severe.
While there's still plenty of uncertainty ahead, and much could change between now and next Wednesday, markets rallied across the board Monday on the news that the White House may dial back plans for global economic retaliation.
Chapter 3: How are the recent protests impacting Turkish politics?
Chapter 4: What did Egypt propose for a ceasefire in Gaza?
Chapter 5: How is the U.S. responding to trade imbalances?
Chapter 6: What are the potential consequences of Trump's tariffs?
Still, the president left plenty of room for speculation, warning that while the U.S. may take less than what other nations are charging, whatever he decides to tax the dirty 15, quote, will be substantial. Trump has previously framed the planned reciprocal tariffs as a necessary correction to what he describes as longstanding trade imbalances. The principle is, well, straightforward.
If another country holds high taxes on American imports, the US will respond in kind, imposing import taxes on foreign governments at the same rate. The goal, Trump argues, is to level the playing field and incentivize companies to manufacture in the US.
But economists have warned that such an aggressive and confrontational approach to foreign trade could have devastating financial consequences for the U.S. and our allies, and risks sending global economies spiraling into a recession.
Ever since Trump began his tariff campaign by hitting Canada and Mexico and China with limited trade taxes earlier this year, markets have been jittery, to say the least. They were further rattled when Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from all U.S. trading partners back on the 12th of March.
A stock sell-off since the beginning of March has wiped out nearly all the gains made in the aftermath of Trump's victory in the November presidential election. And J.P. Morgan's chief economist recently revised their economic forecast, warning there is now a 40% chance of a U.S. recession occurring sometime this year.
But so far, Trump has largely shrugged off those concerns in public remarks, arguing that in the long term, tariffs will boost the government's coffers and help revitalize manufacturing in America. Still, his softer tone on Monday suggests the potential economic fallout of the policies is being taken more seriously behind closed doors. But he's not backing down entirely.
Separate from the potential reciprocal tariffs, Trump announced on Monday that he'll charge a 25% tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela. Unlike his broader tariff agenda, this economic penalty appears designed to increase pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, as well as China, which is the country's largest buyer of crude oil exports.
The tariff will add to existing duties, meaning that China will now be facing 45% tariffs on certain goods traded with America. Crude futures jumped slightly on the news, and analysts said the measure would likely trigger a short-term rise in the price of oil, though the impact is not expected to be too severe.
While there's still plenty of uncertainty ahead, and much could change between now and next Wednesday, markets rallied across the board Monday on the news that the White House may dial back plans for global economic retaliation.
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