Trump intensifies tariff push

Good morning. Donald Trump talks about yet more tariffs—this time on the EU, Canada and cars. Wall Street isn’t seeing the deal-making bonanza it expected. And we can help you pick the best seat in Lufthansa’s redesigned cabin. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Donald Trump threatened tariffs “far larger than currently planned” on the EU and Canada if they worked together “to do economic harm” to the US. Already, so-called reciprocal levies are set for April 2, and the EU is looking at retaliatory options. The bloc is said to expect a double-digit tariff rate that’ll apply across all members.

Cars are getting dinged, too. Trump signed a proclamation to impose a 25% tariff on all auto imports, starting April 3. That would be a major blow to Canada’s manufacturing sector; the country shipped nearly $35 billion worth of cars to the US last year. (The winner in all this? Keep reading.)

Then there’s China, which might get some relief in the trade war if it supports the sale of TikTok’s US operations, Trump said. He suggested that “in order to get China” to agree to a sale, “maybe I’d give them a reduction in tariffs.” The president has already imposed 20% levies on goods imported from China.
From tariff talk to Big Tech... OpenAI is close to finalizing a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, people familiar said. That would be the largest of all time, according to data compiled by research firm PitchBook. It’d also value the company at $300 billion, about double the ChatGPT maker’s previous valuation from October.

The Signal scandal isn’t going away. Roger Wicker, a top Senate Republican with Pentagon oversight, said he wants an investigation into how a journalist was included in a group chat with defense officials discussing military strikes. The breach is proving too much to bear for some of Donald Trump’s most ardent backers.

Deep Dive: Tariffs Winner

One winner stands out in the wreckage of Trump’s planned tariffs on auto imports: Elon Musk’s Tesla.

The Big Take

Wall Street bankers are sounding the alarm as the anticipated Trump-driven deals bonanza stalls amid uncertainty over tariffs and market volatility.

Opinion

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's first Asian tour won’t fix the US credibility crisis, Karishma Vaswani writes. The US should stop sending mixed messages and show it’s committed to the region by announcing expanded military exercises, with Asian allies touting an increase in their defense budgets as well.

Before You Go

Breaking down business class: Lufthansa is overhauling the cabins on its long-haul fleet and will now offer up to 14 categories, including seven types of business class seats. (And of course they all have different price points.) We get into what you need to know before you book.

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