Canada shows Trump another kind of tariff blowback
It’s a new salvo in the trade war initiated by President Donald Trump’s tariffs: putting fresh eyes on a multi-billion-dollar contract that was locked down in 2023.
Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered a review of the country’s contract for Lockheed Martin Corp,'s F-35 fighter jets — a purchase that’s supposed to send more than $13 billion to the US manufacturer. The scope of work is supposed to be 88 fighters. Legal commitments are in place only for the first 16 of those.
A spokesman said the goal of the review is to determine if that contract “is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada’s needs.”
Since the Canadians have other options for sourcing fighter jets, it’s a noteworthy warning, though not — at this point, anyway — an act of retaliation. Read More
And there are other ways Trump’s tariffs could have an impact on American communities, from baseball bats to caskets. Read More
‘Drill baby drill’ reality check
And while we’re on the subject of the Trump economy, his treasury secretary projected nothing-to-see-here calmness in an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Stock declines have wiped trillions of dollars from the equities market — affecting both big business and the 401(k) plans. “I‘m not worried about the markets,” Scott Bessent said. “Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great.”
A meeting with top oil executives is in the works as Trump charts plans to stoke domestic energy production.
Accomplishing that will take some effort, given how high production already is — a surplus is projected — and uncertainty created by the tariffs. A couple numbers to know:
- $50 a barrel — the consumer-friendly target touted by the Trump administration.
- $67 a barrel — what producers are getting, on average, for a blend of crude oil known as West Texas Intermediate.
Speaking on Bloomberg Television, billionaire Harold Hamm of Continental Resources said, “There are a lot of fields that are getting to the point that’s real tough to keep that cost of supply down.”
Cross the $50 line and “you’re below the point where you’re going to ‘drill, baby, drill,’” Hamm added. Read More
Ukraine’s Assets
Some of Trump’s comments aboard Air Force One have European leaders questioning what kind of deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine might come out of a phone call with President Vladimir Putin.
“We’ll be talking about land, we’ll be talking about power plants — that’s, you know, that’s a big question,” Trump said. “We’re already talking about that, dividing up certain assets.”
Russia has previously demanded that Ukraine cede the land Russia has already seized in the war.
Speaking today ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, the EU’s top foreign policy official, Kaja Kallas, said the Moscow’s conditions have shown that “they don’t really want peace.”
And Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Russia needs to make concessions because “otherwise you will be compromising international law and the UN Charter, which would have global implications.”
“We’ll see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday,” Trump said yesterday. Read More
More downsizing targets
Courtney Rozen reports that today’s the day the Trump administration is supposed to deliver a list of reinstated employees to a federal court.
The order came down as part of the challenge of the firings of probationary workers — new hires and longterm employees who transferred to new positions — at 19 government agencies. The administration terminated more than 34,000 of them since Jan. 20, according to Bloomberg Law’s analysis. Read More
And Trump’s latest batch of executive orders reduces what some federal agencies can do and eliminates functions that aren’t ordered by law.
Among the targets is the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and other information organizations.
He also suspended the security clearances of more attorneys. Read More from Meghan Tribe and Tatyana Monnay.
How Well Do You Know Washington -- Glass Bowl Edition
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so this week’s quiz tests whether you were paying attention when the Irish prime minister (official title: the taoiseach) came to town for meals and meetings.
When did the tradition of marking St. Patrick’s Day by bringing authentic Irish shamrocks to the White House begin?
A) Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to receive a St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks, in 1942
B) Harry Truman was the first president presented with St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks, in 1952
C) John F. Kennedy was the first president given St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks, in 1962
D) Richard Nixon was the first recipient of St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks, in 1972
Scroll down for the answer.
Yes, you know that face in the hallway
BGOV reporter Kate Ackley spent some time with a familiar face who’s one of Capitol Hill’s newest lobbyists.
Former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is freshly released from the two-year ban on advocacy in Congress, and he has a portfolio of clients that includes Duke, its home-state rival the University of North Carolina, as well as Wake Forest University, his alma mater,.
Burr also will lobby for the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America and Eli Lilly, putting to use his time rising through the ranks of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and aid he spends about 30% of his time on behalf of AI clients. Read More
Did You Ace the Quiz?
The correct answer is B. The tradition of an official from Republic of Ireland delivering shamrocks to the US president began in 1952, when Ambassador John Hearne brought a boxful to Harry Truman. The ante was upped the following year with the addition of a cut-glass Waterford Crystal bowl, presented to President Dwight D Eisenhower. Source: BBC
Before You Go
Some recent deep dives that are worth your time:
- Criticism is “part of the job,” a federal judge said in pushback against legislators suggesting they impeach those who find Trump action’s illegal or unconstitutional impeach-who-you-don’t-agree-with sentiment. Read More
- Bloomberg Government contracting analysts Amanda H. Allen and Maika Ita followed up on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s public criticism of vendor Verizon, which he said isn’t moving fast enough to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration’s telecommunications systems. An Elon Musk company could pick up a windfall. Read More
And expect to see more about these weekend developments:
- Trump said on social media that predecessor Joe Biden’s pardons of members of Congress who investigated the January 6 insurrection were “void, vacant and of no further force or effect.” Read More
- The Trump administration said it arrested and expelled hundreds of alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador for imprisonment, even as a federal judge ordered a halt to some deportations. Read More
Starting Line is free every weekday morning. Sign up HERE.
To contact the reporter on this story: