☕ Liberation Day, explained

Good morning!

It’s a day to trust no one and second-guess everything. April Fools’ Day is a tricky day to work in the news industry, and we certainly benefit from getting this newsletter out nice and early!

Our favorite April Fools news prank? That would have to be the move by the UK’s BBC World Service in 1980 to declare that Big Ben would become a digital clock and renamed it Digital Dave.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• The Kremlin is “still working with the US” and is eager to continue “building relations” after President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approach to the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal negotiations. On Friday, Putin proposed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should step down as leader and that an interim government should be run by the UN to govern parts of Ukraine. Trump responded by telling US media he was “very angry, pissed off”, and threatened further sanctions on countries buying Russian oil if peace talks were not taken seriously. Russia has said no call with Putin and the White House is scheduled this week, but remain open to it taking place.

• The White House announced they deported a further 17 alleged gang members to a prison in El Salvador, insisting it used a separate legal power to the wartime power used for similar deportations last month. In mid-March, President Trump was blocked by a federal court judge from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to a super prison in El Salvador. Despite that block remaining in place, 17 Venezuelan and Salvadorian men were deported yesterday. The White House said the group included murderers and rapists, and they were being deported using the traditional legal immigration authority. 

• The death toll from Myanmar’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake has risen to over 2,000 people, three days after the quake hit. Hopes of finding further survivors trapped under the rubble have faded after the passing of a critical 72-hour survival window. High temperatures, an unstable political situation, and damage to key infrastructure have hindered rescue efforts. The death toll is predicted to reach as high as 10,000. Authorities have said the earthquake may worsen the already dire poverty conditions in Myanmar, one of Asia’s poorest countries.

• Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally Party, has been banned from running for public office for five years after being found guilty of embezzlement. Le Pen was likely to be a strong presidential candidate for France’s 2027 elections after leading her party over a recent period of increasing popularity. She responded to the ruling, calling it “political”. Other sanctions against Le Pen include four years of house arrest, two years of suspension, and a fine of $108,000. Her party has also been ordered to pay back nearly $5m of stolen funds. Lawyers for the embattled leader said she will appeal the ruling.

I’ve got 1 minute

Elon Musk has gifted $1 million to two rally attendees in Wisconsin, held in support of a conservative Judge currently locked in a State Supreme Court race.

Now, a resulting lawsuit has drawn even more attention to the most expensive state Supreme Court race in history.

Support for the two candidates has fallen along Republican and Democratic lines, with President Trump endorsing conservative Judge Brad Schimel and former President Obama coming out to support liberal Judge Susan Crawford.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

The majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is liberal; however, if Schimel wins, he will tip the balance, and conservatives will hold a majority.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court determines how voters in congressional elections are grouped into districts. Historically, this power has been used strategically to group voters in configurations more favourable to a court's majority sentiment.

Musk believes that Democrats would ‘redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats.’ Because Republicans hold a slim majority in Washington, this could have major national implications.

Additionally, the election is widely seen as an early referendum on President Trump’s governance and Musk’s influence in the White House.

What did Musk do?

At a rally supporting Brad Schimel, Musk announced the two winners in a $1m raffle, where the condition of entry was to sign a petition against ‘activist judges’. This term is a criticism of US Judges who are perceived to make judgments based on politics instead of the law.

The million-dollar prizes capped months of Musk’s financial and public support for Judge Schimel’s campaign. Musk and groups affiliated with Musk donated between $14 and $17 million to Schimel’s campaign.

Musk said the outcome will “affect the entire destiny of humanity.”

Can he give away money like that?

Wisconsin state law prohibits the exchange of gifts for votes. Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul has sued Mr Musk, saying his $1m prizes contravene this law.

Musk denied attempting to buy the election, saying he was trying to generate a “grassroots” movement against activist judges and that the lawsuit was an attempt to curtail his freedom of speech.

Musk has been sued for a similar move during President Trump’s campaign, but a Pennsylvanian judge ruled it legal.

Crawford's campaign has also received millions in donations from different sources, including billionaire George Soros.

I’ve got 2 minutes

President Trump has dubbed April 2 “Liberation Day”, heralding the commencement of a new round of import tariffs. 

The details of the tariffs and which countries will be subject to them are still unclear. 

As other countries prepare to retaliate and the US stock market swings, we update you on what we know so far. 

What is Trump’s objective? 

A tariff is a tax on imports. It’s applied to foreign-made goods brought into another country and paid by the importer.

President Trump is using tariffs to try to achieve three aims: (1) bring US manufacturing jobs back to the US, (2) reduce the US’s $1.2 trillion trade deficit, and (3) exercise leverage over other countries. 

A trade deficit happens when a country spends more on imports than it earns from exports.

What are the Liberation Day tariffs?

Last month, President Trump said he would impose tariffs on countries with trade barriers on US imports, called ‘reciprocal tariffs’. 

The President confirmed this week that the tariffs would apply to every country with trade barriers, contradicting earlier reports that only the top 10 or 15 countries with the most significant trade deficits would be targeted. Trump said the US has been “ripped off by every country in the world,” and a globally encompassing response was required. 

Reciprocal tariffs will be difficult to calculate for each country because other countries’ tariffs on US exports usually apply to specific products, not the total of all US imports. 

Additionally, there are trade barriers other than tariffs. For example, countries sometimes force US producers to comply with stringent regulations that are not enforced in the US. 

Reportedly, the US will assign the size of the tariffs for each country according to a country score, which will be a percentage representative of restrictions on US trade. 

In addition to reciprocal tariffs, 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports will begin on Liberation Day after a one-month delay, as well as 25% on all auto importers. 

Reactions 

US and overseas markets have expressed anxiety ahead of Wednesday’s announcements, with the leading US stock index, the S&P 500, falling by nearly 2% during Monday’s session. Goldman Sachs, a central investment bank, raised their 12-month recession probability from 20% to 35% this week.  

This morning, the head of the EU said the continent has a “strong plan” for reacting to the tariffs but would remain “open to negotiations” with the US after the administration revealed its complete plan.