Trump signs executive order pushing tariff deadline to 1 August
Donald Trump has set new 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on a dozen other countries, including Bangladesh and South Africa. The announcement was made via a post on Truth social that included letters sent to the nations’ leaders.
He also signed an executive order on Monday extending a 90-day pause for a slate of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs first introduced in April – in effect pushing back the deadline of trade talks back to 1 August.
Read the details of Trump’s most recent moves here.
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The Trump administration will deport Kilmar Ábrego García if he is released from custody, a Justice Department attorney said in court this morning, according to the New York Times.
The Maryland father, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March, is currently detained on smuggling charges the Trump administration filed after he was returned to the United States.
Ábrego García’s lawyers have asked the Federal District Court hearing the smuggling case to keep him in custody so that the federal government does not deport Ábrego García before the criminal case is concluded.
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California has rejected the Trump administration’s guidelines on transgender athletes, education secretary Linda McMahon said in a social media post.
Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has directed his Education Department to enforce Title IX, a civil rights law preventing sex discrimination, to prevent transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity. In June, the Education Department found that California had violated civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams.
In her post, McMahon included email screenshots showing that the California Department of Education and Interscholastic Federation had opted not to comply with the Trump administration proposal, which would have required the state to apologize to athletes who had lost competitions to trans athletes.
In a screenshot of an email, California Education Department general counsel Len Garfinkel wrote that the state “respectfully disagrees” with the Trump Administration’s analysis.
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass confronted immigration agents after US Customs and Border Patrol conducted a raid on the city’s MacArthur Park today, she said in a social media post.
“The SECOND I heard about this, I went to the park to speak to the person in charge to tell them it needed to end NOW. Absolutely outrageous,” Bass wrote in the post.
On Monday morning, heavily armed immigration officials swept MacArthur Park, located in the city’s Westlake neighborhood, on horseback and aboard armored vehicles.
Bass, who was scheduled to attend a news conference with California governor Gavin Newsom, diverted to the park, where she confronted customs officials. The mayor’s show of force against immigration agents comes after weeks of mounting tension between Los Angeles residents and customs officials.
Meanwhile, Israel’s defence minister has laid out plans to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah, in a scheme which legal experts and academics described as a blueprint for crimes against humanity.
Israel Katz said he has ordered Israel’s military to prepare for establishing a camp, which he called a “humanitarian city”, on the ruins of the city of Rafah, Haaretz newspaper reported.
Palestinians would go through “security screening” before entering, and once inside would not be allowed to leave, Katz said at a briefing for Israeli journalists.
Israeli forces would control the perimeter of the site and initially “move” 600,000 Palestinians into the area, Katz said, mostly people currently displaced in the al-Mawasi area.
Eventually the entire population of Gaza would be housed there, and Israel aims to implement “the emigration plan, which will happen”, Haaretz quoted him saying.
Trump posts more tariff letters, with highest rate at 40%
Donald Trump has posted more tariff letters addressing a number of countries on his Truth Social platform.
They include:
Tunisia will face a 25% tariff on goods imported to the US.
Indonesia – 32%
Bangladesh and Serbia – 35%
Bosnia – 30%
Cambodia and Thailand – 36%
The latest round of letters brings the total number on Monday to 14. Earlier in the day, Trump announced the following tariff rates:
25% US tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan
30% US tariffs on South Africa
40% US tariffs on Laos and Myanmar
Myanmar and Laos have so far been worst hit. The south-east Asian nation of Laos, a country heavily bombed by the US during the cold war, has a poverty rate of 18.3%, according to the ADB. Myanmar is still reeling from a devastating earthquake and years of civil war following a 2021 military coup.
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Away from tariffs, Donald Trump is hosting the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House later today.
The visit comes as indirect talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza continued for a second day on Monday.
Trump has increased pressure for a deal in Gaza in recent weeks and raised the possibility that a ceasefire could be declared in a matter of hours or days.
Hamas demands an Israeli withdrawal, while Netanyahu insists on Hamas disarming. The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu could give new urgency to the US ceasefire proposal, but whether it leads to a deal that ends the war is unclear.
“The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters hours before the two leaders meet for a private dinner.
Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the top Democrat in the Senate Chuck Schumer for questioning the federal response to the Texas floods.
Here’s more about what Schumer is asking. According to his office, the Senate minority leader has asked the Commerce Department’s acting inspector general Duane Townsend “to immediately to open an investigation into the scope, breadth, and ramifications of whether staffing shortages at key local National Weather Service (NWS) stations contributed to the catastrophic loss of life and property during the deadly flooding.”
The full letter is here.
Three-week reprieve from tariffs little comfort for European Union
There was cold comfort for the EU on Monday night as it emerged the bloc has only been given a three-week reprieve from the United States’s threatened 50% tariffs.
Revealing the details of negotiations for the first time, the Irish deputy prime minister Simon Harris said he expects the status quo and its temporary pause on punitive tariffs to be extended until 1 August. That would be in line with an executive order the White House said Donald Trump will soon sign.
Even then it was time to reach what he called “an agreement in principle” on a “framework agreement”. It is not clear whether the car industry will be spared the 25% hike in tariffs as part of that framework agreement, an elementary aspect of Germany’s demands for a quick deal.
Ireland, Germany and Italy are the members of the bloc that export more to the US than import but Ireland is considered most vulnerable per capita because of the numbers employed by pharmaceutical companies, many of them US multinationals.
Harris conceded that some of tariff would be permanent during Trump’s regime, likely to be 10% and there was as yet no sign of any stay on sectoral tariffs including pharma, currently threatened by a “section 232 investigation”.
Harris said:
I want to be clear that while it is likely there will be some form of tariffs going forward, their imposition even at a lower rate is bad for consumers, jobs, economic growth and investment. We have consistently called for zero-for-zero tariffs in as many areas as possible and I know the EU has advocated this course of action.
Uncertainty continues around the outcomes of the existing 232 investigations including on Pharma. This is obviously an area of significant concern to Ireland. However, my hope is that in the coming days and weeks both sides can work intensively and constructively to bring about an agreement.
This post has been updated to say that the comments came from Irish deputy prime minister Simon Harris, not taoiseach Micheál Martin.
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Mike Johnson to meet Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow, his office confirmed.
The meeting will take place at the Capitol, where only the Senate is in session this week, after congressional Republicans last week pulled multiple all-nighters to pass Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in time for his signature last Friday.
Most Republicans in Congress are supportive of Israel’s defense, though some questioned the wisdom of supporting its hostilities with Iran. Netanyahu’s visit to Washington will begin this evening when he stops by the White House to have dinner with Trump.
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Trump posts letters for Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar
Trump has been posting more letters to world leaders on Truth Social, announcing new tariffs set to kick in from August.
These include:
25% US tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan
30% US tariffs on South Africa
40% US tariffs on Laos and Myanmar
More letters are expected over the next few hours.
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A formal US government review concluded that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, contradicting conspiracy theories that hold otherwise. Here’s more, from the Guardian’s Edward Helmore:
A review of files held by the US government on the financier Jeffrey Epstein has said there is no secret client list to be released, and confirmed his August 2019 death by suicide while in federal custody, both of which contradict conspiracy theories.
A memo said that a Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) review of the files – which has for years been teased as a treasure trove of information about a larger network of wrongdoing – concluded that no further charges are expected, as investigators “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties”.
The justice department also released hours of footage taken from Manhattan’s metropolitan correctional center, showing that no one entered or left the area where Epstein was held during, before or after the time medical examiners concluded he took his life.
“As part of our commitment to transparency, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein,” the DOJ said.
Here’s more on the brewing controversy over whether there was enough warning of the Texas flash floods from the Guardian’s Edward Helmore, who is in Kerrville, Texas:
As Texas marshals a formidable response to the flash floods that have already killed dozens, questions are now being posed about warnings that were given on Thursday and early Friday about the severity of the approaching storm and the coordination between local officials and the National Weather Service.
New flood alerts were issued for Texas “hill country” on Sunday, prompting rescue services to suspend the search for missing people, including at least 11 from Camp Mystic, the summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River hard hit by Friday’s flash flood.
At an early evening press briefing, Kerr county authorities said they were suspending the search and evacuating first responders from the river valley. They confirmed that 68 had died there, including 28 children. Not all have been identified, with officials still examining the bodies of 18 adults and 10 children.
Extraordinary tales of resilience have also emerged alongside videos of the destruction and loss that are circulating on social media. On Sunday, a video was posted on X of girls from Camp Mystic being evacuated from the camp and singing the hymns Pass It On and Amazing Grace as they crossed a bridge over the still torrential Guadalupe River.
Karoline Leavitt denied that Donald Trump had ordered weapons shipments to Ukraine paused, instead saying the decision was made as part of a normal review of such shipments by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
“This was a standard review by the Pentagon of all weapons and all aid and all support that the United States is providing [to] all countries and all regions around the world, not just Ukraine,” the White House press secretary said. “So, it’s a pause to review to ensure that everything the Pentagon is pushing out there is in the best interest of our military and our men and women in uniform.”
Pentagon officials have said the pause was needed to ensure the US has enough weapons for its own needs, but Democrats have accused them of lying:
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Trump will send more tariff letters to foreign leaders 'in the coming days', White House says
Donald Trump will send foreign leaders more letters notifying them of new tariffs in the days to come, said Karoline Leavitt.
“There will be additional letters in the coming days,” the White House press secretary said, in addition to the 12 he plans to send today and the two already made public, which were to South Korea and Japan’s leaders,
As for why Trump decided to start with the two Asian allies, Leavitt said:
It’s the president’s prerogative and those are the countries he chose.
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Trump to send tariff letters to 12 more countries, formally delay reciprocal tariffs
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that in addition to Japan and South Korea, the leaders of 12 more countries will receive letters from Donald Trump announcing the imposition of new tariffs beginning next month.
“There will be approximately 12 other countries that will receive notifications and letters directly from the president of the United States,” Leavitt said. She added that Trump still planned to “create tailor made trade plans for each and every country on this planet”.
She also confirmed that Trump would formally extend his deadline for the imposition of reciprocal tariffs to 1 August from 9 July, with the intention of giving countries more time to negotiate deals:
The President will also sign an executive order today, delaying the July 9 deadline to August 1. So the reciprocal tariff rate, or these new rates that will be provided in this correspondence to these foreign leaders will be going out the door within the next month, or deals will be made, and those countries continue to negotiate with the United States. We’ve seen a lot of positive developments in the right direction, but the administration, the president and his trade team, want to cut the best deals for the American people and the American worker. That’s what they’re focused on.
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White House press secretary says critics of flood warnings should be 'deeply ashamed'
Karoline Leavitt just kicked off the White House briefing for the day, beginning with an attack on those who have questioned whether the National Weather Service was adequately prepared to warn of the deadly flash floods in Texas.
The White House press secretary cited “some members of the media” as well as Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader who has reportedly called for an investigation from the commerce department inspector general into whether the National Weather Service had enough staff in offices that would have forecast the storms.
“Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning. Here are the facts: in the lead-up to this tragic natural disaster, the National Weather Service did its job despite unprecedented rainfall,” Leavitt said.
She continued:
To any person who has deliberately lied about these facts surrounding this catastrophic event, you should be deeply ashamed. At this time, the administration’s focus will be … on giving the victims in their communities the support they deserve during these recovery efforts in this tragic time. May God bless the great people of Texas, especially the parents who have lost their children. President Trump loves you. We are praying for you, and he will be traveling to see you later this week.
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The day so far
Donald Trump has fired a new tariff barrage, this time at Japan and South Korea, which will face 25% levies beginning 1 August unless it inks some kind of deal with Washington. The president broke the news in letters to the countries’ leaders, and has said that more letters will be released today. We’ll let you know if any of those materialize. Meanwhile, in Brussels, European Union ambassadors have been briefed on a new trade framework with the United States that will prevent some – but not all – tariffs.
Here’s what else has been going on today:
The Trump administration’s “ideological deportation policy” goes on trial today in Massachusetts.
Peter Navarro, a top trade adviser to Trump, hailed “progress” in tariff negotiations, even as the administration is set to blow its “90 deals in 90 days deadline”.
Trump is set to sign executive orders in the Oval Office at 4pm today, though the press is not set to attend. After that, he’ll welcome Benjamin Netanyahu back to the White House.
European ambassadors briefed on draft US trade deal
EU ambassadors are currently being briefed about the draft framework deal that seems to have been agreed over the weekend with the Trump administration.
It will extend the period of negotiation, avoiding the threatened 50% tariffs on exports, but mean Trump’s blanket 10% tariff will stay.
Ireland’s prime minister says the deal is about creating a “stable space” for further negotiations.
The taoiseach Micheál Martin said such a high level agreement would avoid retaliatory measures and escalation of a trade war.
It “would leave space for further discussions” he said adding it would create “a deal of clarity”.
The prime minister was speaking after a call with European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Monday morning, European time.
A diplomatic source said the deal is “far from ideal”, but it means that the EU can now try and “control the controllable”.
In addition to announcing new tariffs on South Korea and Japan, Donald Trump also threatened both countries with higher levies if they retaliate with their own trade measures.
From his letter to South Korea’s president Lee Jae Myung:
If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge. Please understand that these Tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Korea’s Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, causing these unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States. This Deficit is a major threat to our Economy and, indeed, our National Security!
There’s a certain tone to his letters, one that indicates a deal can be done if both countries accede to his trade demands. From his letter to Lee:
We look forward to working with you as your Trading Partner for many years to come. If you wish to open your heretofore closed Trading Markets to the United States, and eliminate your Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter. These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country. You will never be disappointed with The United States of America.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Donald Trump said that starting today, he’ll send “12, maybe 15” letters to major trading partners announcing new tariffs.
We’ve now seen two letters, to the leaders of Japan and South Korea. We’ll let you know what else Trump announces.
Trump announces 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea
Donald Trump has released letters to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, announcing new 25% tariffs on both nations’ exports to the United States and higher levies on goods transshipped through the countries.
The letters appear to be the first that administration officials planned to release today outlining new tariffs on major trading partners.
The letters to Japan’s prime minister Ishiba Shigeru and South Korean president Lee Jae Myung are very similar. Here’s what Trump wrote to Shigeru and posted on Truth Social:
We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with Japan, and have concluded that we must move away from these longterm, and very persistent, Trade Deficits engendered by Japan’s Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers. Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal. Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Japan a Tariff of only 25% on any and all Japanese products sent into the United States, separate from all Sectoral Tariffs. Goods transshipped to evade a higher Tariff will be subject to that higher Tariff. Please understand that the 25% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your Country. As you are aware, there will be no Tariff if Japan, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely - In other words, in a matter of weeks.
The White House has made a last-minute addition to its schedule in the form of a briefing set for 1pm by press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt will field questions from reporters in attendance, and we can only guess at what she’ll try to focus their attention on. Expect questions about Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit today, if federal job cuts made the disaster in Texas worse and what to make of Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.
Donald Trump has openly mused about investigating the citizenship of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. As the Guardian’s Robert Tait reports, the threat is part of a new trend that has seen the president question the immigration status of his detractors:
Threats of retribution from Donald Trump are hardly a novelty, but even by his standards, the US president’s warnings of wrathful vengeance in recent days have represented a dramatic escalation.
In the past week, Trump has threatened deportation, loss of US citizenship or arrest against, respectively, the world’s richest person, the prospective future mayor of New York and Joe Biden’s former homeland security secretary.
The head-spinning catalogue of warnings may have been aimed at distracting from the increasing unpopularity, according to opinion surveys, of Trump’s agenda, some analysts say. But they also served as further alarm bells for the state of US democracy five and a half months into a presidency that has seen a relentless assault on constitutional norms, institutions and freedom of speech.
On Tuesday, Trump turned his sights on none other than Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who, before a recent spectacular fallout, had been his closest ally in ramming through a radical agenda of upending and remaking the US government.
But when the Tesla and SpaceX founder vowed to form a new party if Congress passed Trump’s signature “one big beautiful bill” into law, Trump swung into the retribution mode that is now familiar to his Democratic opponents.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, menacing both the billions of dollars in federal subsidies received by Musk’s companies, and – it seemed – his US citizenship, which the entrepreneur received in 2002 but which Trump supporters such as Steve Bannon have questioned.
Tom Homan, the official who Donald Trump has named “border czar” and put in charge of his mass deportation plans, spoke briefly to reporters at the White House earlier today.
He was asked what he thought of comments from Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary in the New York City mayor’s race, that he would not cooperate with Homan’s efforts to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants living in the city.
“Good luck on that. We’re gonna be in New York City,” Homan replied.
Trump has threatened Mamdani since he emerged as the frontrunner to become mayor of the nation’s largest city. Here’s more on that:
Donald Trump logged on to Truth Social this morning to, randomly enough, post words of support for Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president who is on trial over an alleged coup plot.
“Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro. I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,” Trump wrote, adding “LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!”
Bolsonaro took the stand to deny the allegations about a month ago:
Trial set to begin over Trump administration's ‘ideological-deportation policy’
One of the first major trials of Donald Trump’s policies is set to begin today, over his administration’s efforts to deport foreign students who take part in pro-Palestinian activism. Here’s more on what we can expect from the case, from the Guardian’s Alice Speri:
A lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s effort to deport foreign students over pro-Palestinian views goes to trial in a Massachusetts federal court on Monday, where the government for the first time will need to defend its extraordinary position that it can deport noncitizens over their political speech.
The case was brought by the national American Association of University Professors (AAUP); its Harvard, Rutgers and New York University chapters; and the Middle East Studies Association (Mesa) following the arrest and detention of several noncitizen students and scholars who have spoken out on Palestinian rights. The government has claimed the authority to deport noncitizens who have committed no crimes but whose presence it deems poses a threat to US foreign policy.
The case is the first of half-dozen legal challenges to the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on universities to make it to trial, with civil rights and education advocates asking the judge to declare the “ideological-deportation policy” unconstitutional and unlawful.
Those arrested as part of the government’s promised campaign against pro-Palestinian foreign students have all been released from immigration detention, with the last of them – Mahmoud Khalil – freed on 20 June. But they all continue to fight against efforts to deport them. Other students left the US or went into hiding to avoid arrest.
European leaders are meanwhile bracing for Donald Trump’s next move on tariffs, which may come as soon as today in the form of letters sent to countries letting them know how much they’ll have to pay to access the US market.
Our Business live blog is covering that side of the story, and you can read it here:
Trump trade advisor hails 'progress' as administration set to blow '90 deals in 90 days' deadline
Shortly after Donald Trump paused his disruptive “liberation day” tariffs last April, his top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, went on Fox Business Network to promise “90 deals in 90 days” with major trading partners.
It seemed a wildly unrealistic goal, considering such agreements can take months or years to hammer out. The 9 July deadline for those deals is nigh, and Washington has just two new trade deals – with the UK and Vietnam – to show for its efforts, and other White House officials have since downplayed the seriousness of that deadline.
Navarro appeared on CNBC this morning and was asked whether he was disappointed that the barrage of deals did not come to be. He replied:
I’m happy with with the progress we’ve had, because every country that we run a major deficit with is fully engaged. I think what we’re learning from the negotiations is simply … how difficult it is for these countries to give up the advantage they have over us.
We’re also live blogging the latest tragic news out of flood-stricken Texas, where confirmation arrived this morning of the deaths of 27 girls and counsellors at a summer camp.
You can follow along here:
We expect to get our first glimpse of Donald Trump at 4pm ET today, when he signs unspecified executive orders in the Oval Office, according to the White House schedule.
Reporters won’t be invited to that one, but that could always change – he often uses such occasions to hold forth to the press. After that, Trump is scheduled to greet Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, then have dinner with him, beginning at 6:30pm.
US to make several trade announcements in next 48 hours, treasury secretary says
The United States will make several trade announcements in the next 48 hours, treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said this morning.
“We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,” Bessent told CNBC. “So it’s going to be a busy couple of days.”
It comes amid confusion over when the administration’s new tariff rates will come into effect. Donald Trump said the US would start delivering tariff letters from 12:00pm ET today, but they will apparently be delayed, going into effect on 1 August and not 9 July as previously expected.
Asked if the tariffs were coming into effect on 1 August or this week, Trump – helpfully – replied: “No, there are going to be tariffs, the tariffs, the tariffs are going to be, the tariffs. I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, yeah. Either a letter or a deal.”
The letters would not necessarily provide an ultimatum, according to Bessent. “It’s just ‘thank you for wanting to trade with the United States of America. We welcome you as a trading partner, and here’s the rate, unless you want to come back and try to negotiate,’” he said.
Bessent declined to comment on whether negotiations on new ownership of the TikTok short video app, which Trump also said would start this week, would be linked to trade talks with China.
He said he would meet with his Chinese counterpart in the next couple of weeks.
“I think there are things for us to do together if the Chinese want to do it, so we will discuss whether we are able to move beyond trade into other areas,” he told CNBC.
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Trial to consider Trump’s ‘ideological-deportation policy’ targeting pro-Palestinian students
Alice Speri is a journalist covering foreign policy, conflict and human rights
A lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s effort to deport foreign students over pro-Palestinian views goes to trial in a Massachusetts federal court on Monday, where the government for the first time will need to defend its extraordinary position that it can deport noncitizens over their political speech.
The case was brought by the national American Association of University Professors (AAUP); its Harvard, Rutgers and New York University chapters; and the Middle East Studies Association (Mesa) following the arrest and detention of several noncitizen students and scholars who have spoken out on Palestinian rights. The government has claimed the authority to deport noncitizens who have committed no crimes but whose presence it deems poses a threat to US foreign policy.
The case is the first of half-dozen legal challenges to the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on universities to make it to trial, with civil rights and education advocates asking the judge to declare the “ideological-deportation policy” unconstitutional and unlawful.
Those arrested as part of the government’s promised campaign against pro-Palestinian foreign students have all been released from immigration detention, with the last of them – Mahmoud Khalil – freed on 20 June.
But they all continue to fight against efforts to deport them. Other students left the US or went into hiding to avoid arrest.
You can read the full story here:
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The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she had a “good exchange” with Donald Trump on Sunday, a Commission spokesperson told reporters during a daily press briefing this morning.
The spokesperson said:
We want to reach a deal with the US (by 9 July). We want to avoid tariffs. We believe they cause pain. We want to achieve win-win outcomes, not lose-lose outcomes.
Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the US has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until 9 July at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations.
US officials have now indicated that tariffs will begin on 1 August, with countries – and blocs like the EU - scrambling to make last minute trade deals as the deadline nears.
Von der Leyen has conceded there is insufficient time to agree on a comprehensive agreement due to the volume and complexity of EU-US trade, but could strike a trade deal in principle.
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Texas floods: rescue teams continue search for missing with more heavy rains forecast
We can now bring you the latest updates from the devastating Texas floods that have killed at least 82 people. Rescuers are working around the clock to find survivors but their efforts may be hampered by more heavy rain that is expected to fall today.
Most of the fatalities were in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp, was deluged.
Kerr county’s sheriff, Larry Leitha, said at a briefing on Sunday afternoon that 68 people had been confirmed dead in the county, including 28 children, with the search continuing for the missing girls and their counselor from Camp Mystic, along the Guadalupe river.
Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, said in an earlier briefing that another 10 fatalities had been confirmed in neighboring counties. Abbott said that officials were still searching for 41 known missing persons across the state.
Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration on Sunday for Kerr county and said he would likely visit on Friday. You can read more in our Texas floods live blog here.
The Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, Andrew Roth, has written up this analysis exploring the complicated relationship between Netanyahu and Trump and the prospects of a Gaza ceasefire deal. Here is a snippet:
Netanyahu and Trump have a complex personal relationship – and Trump openly vented frustration at him last month during efforts to negotiate a truce with Iran – but the two have appeared in lockstep since the US launched a bombing run against Iran’s nuclear programme, fulfilling a key goal for Israeli war planners.
Netanyahu arrives in Washington in a strong political position, observers have said, potentially giving him the diplomatic cover he would need to end the war in Gaza without facing a revolt from his rightwing supporters that could lead to the collapse of his government…
As Netanyahu comes to Washington on Monday for the third time since Trump’s inauguration, he appears to know exactly what he is doing. And while Trump has touted his bona fides as a dealmaker, the decision for when and how a ceasefire is implemented in Gaza appears ultimately out of his hands.
You can read more about the Israeli prime minister’s visit in our Middle East live blog being helmed by the excellent Charlie Moloney.
Cautious hopes for a Gaza ceasefire breakthrough as Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is arriving in Washington today to meet his closest ally, Donald Trump, who has pushed for a “deal this week” between Hamas and Israel.
Trump is not scheduled to meet Netanyahu until 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.
The Israeli leader, who has relied on US weapons to fuel his country’s assault on Gaza, said he believed his discussions with Trump on Monday would help advance talks on a hostage release and ceasefire deal that Israeli negotiators resumed in Qatar on Sunday.
Ahead of Netanyahu’s third visit since Trump’s return to office this year, Trump said there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement.
“We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told journalists.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel in 2023, triggering Israel’s war on Gaza, which, according to the territory’s health ministry, has killed over 57,000 Palestinian people to date.
Around 20 of the remaining hostages are believed to be still alive. A majority of the original hostages have been freed through diplomatic negotiations, though the Israeli military has also recovered some.
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US to start sending letters to US trade partners dictating new tariffs, Trump says
Donald Trump has said his administration plans to start sending letters on Monday to US trade partners dictating new tariffs, amid confusion over when the new rates will come into effect.
“It could be 12, maybe 15 [letters],” the president told reporters, “and we’ve made deals also, so we’re going to have a combination of letters and some deals have been made.”
With his previously announced 90-day pause on tariffs set to end on 9 July, the president was asked if the new rates would come into effect this week or on 1 August, as some officials had suggested.
“No, there are going to be tariffs, the tariffs, the tariffs are going to be, the tariffs,” the president began uncertainly. “I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, yeah. Either a letter or a deal.”
Sensing the confusion, his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, jumped in to add: “But they go into effect on August 1. Tariffs go into effect August 1, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.”
You can read the full story, by my colleagues Robert Mackey, Lauren Almeida and Lisa O’Carroll, here:
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The US is extremely mindful of BRICS’ economic might and its growing influence on the diplomatic stage. The group, often described as the developing world’s alternative to the G7 group of nations, has undergone a recent rapid expansion.
BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group last year expanded to include Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE.
Some of its members have denounced US tariff policies and have suggested reforms to how major currencies are valued.
The group pushes for greater representation for emerging economies and thinks western countries have a disproportionate influence on global organisations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
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Donald Trump threatens extra 10% tariff for ‘anti-American’ Brics policies
In other news, Donald Trump has widened his trade war after saying the US will impose an additional 10% tariff on any countries aligning themselves with the “anti-American policies” of the BRICS group of developing nations that include China and Russia.
Trump wrote on social media:
Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
His comments came after a joint Sunday statement from the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro in which the group warned the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump’s erratic tariff policies.
Since his return to the White House, Trump has announced a series of steep import taxes on foreign goods, arguing they will protect American jobs and the US manufacturing industry.
In April, in line with this protectionist view, Trump announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10% duties until 9 July.
The negotiating window until 9 July has led to announced deals only with the UK and Vietnam. You can read more on Trump’s tariff threat in our business live blog.
My colleagues Richard Luscombe and Robert Mackey have a little more detail about how the feud between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful man has recently escalated. Here is an extract from their story:
When the pair fell out earlier in the summer, Musk lashed out during an astonishing social media duel in which he stated Trump’s name was in the files relating to associates of the late pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk later deleted the post and apologized to the president as they embarked on an uneasy truce. On Sunday, however, Musk returned to the subject, reposting a photo of the jailed Epstein facilitator Ghislaine Maxwell that questioned why she was the only person in prison while men who engaged in sex with underage girls – a crime colloquially known in the US as statutory rape – were not.
In other posts he said it would be “not hard” to break the two-party stranglehold in US politics enjoyed by Democrats and Republicans…
Trump has made clear his feelings about his former friend in recent days after criticism of the bill. In response to Musk’s posts calling the bill “insane”, Trump said he might “look into” deporting the South African-born, naturalized US citizen billionaire.
Trump calls Musk's new political party 'ridiculous' and says Tesla owner is 'off the rails'
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics and the second Trump administration.
Donald Trump has hit out at Elon Musk’s decision to start and bankroll a new US political party that the tech billionaire believes can offer a viable alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One yesterday, the US president said:
I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party. It’s always been a two-party system and I think starting a third party just adds to the confusion.
Shortly after speaking about his former ally, Trump posted further comments on his Truth Social platform, writing:
I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.
Trump and Musk were formerly close allies, with the Tesla boss and X owner appointed to slash federal spending through the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) from January through May.
Musk fell out with the Republican president over his sprawling tax and spending plan, signed into law on Friday, which is expected to add at least $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion) to the US’s already huge $37tn (£27tn) debt pile. Musk has argued that the bill, which he has described as “utterly insane and destructive”, would irresponsibly add to the US national debt.
Musk, the world’s richest person, posted on X over the weekend that he had set up the America Party to challenge the Republican and Democratic “Uniparty”. The details of the structure of the new venture or a timeline for its creation are still unclear.
But some of his social media posts suggests the new political party would focus on two or three Senate seats, and eight to 10 House districts.
We will have more on this and other US politics stories throughout the day so stick with us.
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