US President Donald Trump said that he did not envision Ukraine joining NATO in the future, reiterating his administration’s stance that Kyiv relinquish its hopes of joining the military alliance.
“I don’t think they’ll ever be able to join NATO,” Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine published on Friday, blaming Kyiv’s aspirations for Russia’s invasion.
“I think that’s been — from day one, I think that’s been, that’s I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO. If that weren’t brought up, there would have been a much better chance that it wouldn’t have started,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments come as he has been ratcheting up pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to accept a peace deal which critics say favors Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a bid to deliver on a 2024 campaign promise to end the war quickly.
The US president’s claims Russia started the war because of Ukraine’s plan to join NATO echoes the Kremlin’s justification for its invasion. But Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO was rejected in 2008 when a summit of the alliance in Bucharest, Romania, declined to provide the country with a membership action plan.
During the campaign Trump repeatedly said that he would be able to broker a deal at the start of his term, citing his relationship with Putin.
“I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point,” Trump said when asked about his claims that he could end the war on Day One. “Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended.”
Trump has said he is willing to abandon peace talks altogether if there is no sign of progress. At a meeting in Paris last week, the US presented Ukrainian and European officials with a proposal to end the war that effectively would freeze the conflict along existing battle lines.
The US is also willing to recognize Russia’s control over Crimea as part of a deal, Bloomberg previously reported.
Freezing the conflict would be a sacrifice for Ukraine, which has sought to regain all territory in the country’s south and east taken by Russia since 2014, including Crimea, and following Putin’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
“Well, Crimea went to the Russians. It was handed to them by Barack Hussein Obama, and not by me,” Trump said when asked if Russia should keep that territory.
“With that being said, will they be able to get it back? They’ve had their Russians. They’ve had their submarines there for long before any period that we’re talking about, for many years. The people speak largely Russian in Crimea. But this was given by Obama. This wasn’t given by Trump,” he added.
Asked if he would accept a deal in which Crimea and other regions Putin has taken from Ukraine were folded into Russia, Trump said, “Crimea will stay with Russia.” Adding Zelenskiy, “understands that.”
Crimea was illegally seized by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law.
Trump has expressed frustration over the pace of efforts to end the war, in particular with Zelenskiy, ripping the Ukrainian leader in a social media post on Wednesday for saying that his country would not recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea and that doing so would go against Ukraine’s constitution.
Those comments have intensified worries in Kyiv and its allies that the US president’s rush to secure a deal will sacrifice European collective security.
The US president also criticized Putin after Russia launched a massive missile and drone strike on Kyiv calling it “Not necessary, and very bad timing,” in a post to his social media platform on Thursday. He urged Putin to “STOP!”
A man drove a vehicle into a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver, killing at least nine people and injuring an unknown number of others, police said Sunday.
The vehicle entered the street at 8:14 p.m. on Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post.
Several other people were injured, but the exact number of casualties wasn’t immediately available.
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene and the department’s Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police said.
“At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism,” the police department posted early Sunday.
Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai told a news conference that the man was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.
Video circulating on social media shows a young man in a black hoodie with his back against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.
“I’m sorry,” the man says, holding his hand to his head.
Rai declined to comment on the video, but said the person in custody was a “lone male” who was “known to police in certain circumstances.”
The festival was being held in a South Vancouver neighborhood. Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground. A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in still photos from the scene.
Carayn Nulada said that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the SUV. She said that her daughter suffered a narrow escape.
“The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us, because she is scared,” said Nulada, who described children screaming, and pale-faced victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.
“I saw people running and my daughter was shaking.”
Nulada was in Vancouver General Hospital’s emergency room early Sunday morning, trying to find news about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.
Doctors identified him by presenting the family with his wedding ring in a pill bottle and said that he was stable, but would be facing surgery.
James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the event and heard a car rev its engine and then “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot.
“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured,” Cruzat said.
Nic Magtajas described an SUV roaring through the crowd at high speed.
“I saw a bunch of people go over, go high up from the impact of hitting the car,” said Magtajas, 19.
Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in a social media post that the city would provide more information when possible.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” Sim said. “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”
Vancouver had more than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the city’s total population, according to Statistics Canada, the agency that conducts the national census.
Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century. The organizers of the Vancouver event said that he “represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonization.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney and other political leaders on the final day of the election campaign posted messages expressing shock at the violence, condolences for victims and support for the community celebrating its heritage.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you,” Carney wrote.
Carney delayed his campaign events.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a statement expressing sympathy with the victims and their families.
“The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and that the victims and their families are supported and consoled,” he said.
The country’s Department of Foreign Affairs said that “we remember the 1 million strong Filipino community in Canada and pray for their continued strength and resilience.”
In 2018, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight women and two men died. Alek Minassian, who was found guilty, told police that he belonged to an online community of sexually frustrated men, some of whom have plotted attacks on people who have sex.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have shot down seven U.S. Reaper drones in less than six weeks, a loss of aircraft worth more than $200 million in what is becoming the most dramatic cost to the Pentagon of the military campaign against the Iran-backed militants.
According to defense officials, three of the drones were shot down in the past week — suggesting the militants’ targeting of the unmanned aircraft flying over Yemen has improved. The drones were doing attack runs or conducting surveillance, and they crashed both into the water and onto land, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
The U.S. has increased its attacks on the Houthis, launching daily strikes since March 15, when President Donald Trump ordered a new, expanded campaign. He promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.
Central Command spokesman Dave Eastburn said Thursday night that the U.S. has struck more than 800 Houthi targets. “These strikes have destroyed multiple command-and-control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities, advanced weapons storage locations, and killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” Eastburn said.
Another defense official said that although hostile fire is likely the cause of the drone losses, the incidents are still under investigation. The official noted that the increase in U.S. strikes can add to the risk to aircraft, but said the U.S. will take every measure possible to protect troops, equipment and interests in the region. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to comment on sensitive military issues.
The sophisticated drones, built by General Atomics, cost about $30 million each, and generally fly at altitudes of more than 40,000 feet (12,100 meters). Houthis leaders have consistently touted the strikes in public statements. One of the defense officials said the U.S. lost Reaper drones on March 31 and on April 3, 9, 13, 18, 19 and 22.
U.S. senators, meanwhile, are raising concerns about civilian casualties caused by the American strikes in Yemen. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tim Kaine of Virginia wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday questioning whether the Trump administration is “abandoning the measures necessary to meet its obligations to reducing civilian harm.”
Specifically, they questioned reports that U.S. strikes at the Ras Isa fuel terminal in Yemen last week potentially killed more than 70 civilians.
“Military leaders agree that ingraining civilian harm mitigation practices within U.S operations leads to better outcomes and that civilian casualties actually undermine the mission that the military has been sent in to do,” their letter said.
In addition to downing the drones, the Houthis have been persistently firing missiles and one-way attack drones at U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. They haven’t hit any.
The U.S. has been using an array of warships, fighter jets, bombers and drones to strike the Houthis, and aircraft can now launch from two Navy carriers in the region.
Hegseth decided in March to beef up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering the USS Harry S. Truman to extend its deployment there, as the USS Carl Vinson steamed toward the area.
The Truman, along with two of the destroyers and a cruiser in its strike group, is now in the Red Sea. And the Vinson, along with two destroyers and a cruiser, is in the Gulf of Aden.
The third destroyer assigned to the Truman is in the Mediterranean Sea. And two other U.S. Navy destroyers are in the Red Sea, but aren’t part of the Truman’s group.
Hegseth is weighing whether to grant a request by U.S. Central Command to once again extend the Truman’s deployment. A decision to do that could keep the Truman and at least some of its strike group in the region for several more weeks.
It has been rare in recent years for the U.S. to have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time. Navy leaders have generally been opposed to the idea because it disrupts ship maintenance schedules and delays time at home for sailors strained by the unusually high combat tempo.
Prior to that it had been years since the U.S. had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.
The Houthis have been waging persistent missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
From November 2023 until this January, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.
The U.S. and South Korea could reach an “agreement of understanding” on trade as soon as next week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday, following talks between the two nations.
“We had a very successful bilateral meeting,” Bessent told reporters during an Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and the prime minister of Norway. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.”
Bessent did not elaborate on what would be included in a so-called agreement of understanding with Seoul. Dozens of nations have appealed to the Trump administration for relief from higher tariffs that have been suspended 90 days to provide time for talks.
South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said the two sides are aiming for a deal by early July, before the reprieve ends. The meeting “has established the basic framework for further discussions by narrowing the scope of talks and forming a consensus on schedule,” Choi told reporters in Washington after talks with Bessent.
Trump is facing pressure to demonstrate progress on his trade agenda, with investors and business leaders expressing concern that the tumult unleashed by his April 2 tariff announcement could plunge the world economy into a recession.
Choi and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun met with Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington on Thursday. South Korea is among the first nations to sit down for face-to-face negotiations, following Japan’s meetings last week, and the talks will be closely followed by other countries seeking tariff relief.
Among the topics on the table were shipbuilding and energy cooperation as well as non-tariff measures and FX policy, Choi said. The South Korean Finance Ministry will soon have working-level talks with the Treasury Department to discuss currencies, he added.
South Korea, a key U.S. ally, was slapped with a 25% across-the-board import tax that has been temporarily reduced to 10% for 90 days. As with other nations, South Korea also faces a 25% levy on shipments of cars, steel and aluminum.
It remains to be seen how far the interim government in Seoul can carry the negotiations when the country is preparing to elect a new leader on June 3. The main opposition party, whose candidate, Lee Jae-myung, is leading in polls, has voiced concerns that acting President Han Duck-soo is rushing to sign a deal.
The high-stakes meetings come as markets have been rattled by Trump’s shifting rhetoric on tariffs and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The U.S. president has signaled interest in making deals with some key trading partners, but has not yet concluded any agreements.
Full trade agreements traditionally take years to conclude, and the White House is likely to reach deals that are far more limited in scope, or leave pivotal details still to be settled before the deadline for Trump’s higher tariffs to snap back into place.
Trump recently declared “big progress” with Japan, though Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his country won’t just keep conceding to U.S. demands to reach a deal. Japan also intends to push back on U.S. efforts to organize trading partners into a bloc against China, according to current and former Japanese officials.
Washington is also touting “significant progress” with India following talks between Vice President JD Vance and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two sides finalized what it called a terms of reference for negotiation on a new trade pact, according to a White House statement during the vice president’s visit there.
Trump earlier this month said he had a “great call” with South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo, which included discussions on tariffs, shipbuilding and military support.
“In any event, we have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good,” Trump posted April 8 on social media.
The government in Seoul has reviewed multiple packages to present to the Trump administration as it seeks to narrow its trade surplus with the U.S., which jumped about 25% in 2024 from a year ago to $55.7 billion.
Preliminary trade data from South Korea suggested U.S. tariffs were already having an impact. Customs office information showed South Korea’s overall exports fell 5.2% from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month.
As the U.S. tries to make headway on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, European allies are moving to defend the country—and their continent—from Russia in the future.
Discussions indicate that a coalition of the willing could provide a “presence on the ground, in the air, and at sea, as well as air defense.” This support is not set in stone. Right now, however, there’s a way Europe can show it’s serious: intensify its economic sanctions against Russia.
The first step is putting an end to Russian shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which have been soaring. Last year, the European Union imported a record 16.5 million metric tons of LNG from Russia. Most of it was destined for one country: Germany.
Although Germany ostensibly bans imports of Russian LNG, its national energy company in 2024 bought 58 cargoes of gas through the French port at Dunkirk alone—a sixfold increase over the prior year. Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands are also major depots. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) reported on April 10 that EU fossil fuel imports from Russia in 2024 totaled $24 billion, a huge boon to Putin’s war effort.
Enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine
This reliance must stop. As Walter Russell Mead wrote in the Wall Street Journal shortly before the Oval Office debacle, European countries “have seized every opportunity to trade with Russia, even when that trade weakened European security and strengthened Moscow.”
A new report by CREA found that the EU spent more on oil and gas from Russia last year than it spent on financial aid to Ukraine. Vaibhav Raghunandan, coauthor of the report, said, “Purchasing Russian fossil fuels is, quite plainly, akin to sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion.” In 2024, oil and gas tax revenues paid for 30% of the Russian government’s budget, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
Russia is the No. 2 exporter of LNG to Europe, but the United States is No. 1—and U.S. industry is prepared to pick up the slack when the Europeans finally decide to end their dependence on Russia. The Ukrainian private energy company DTEK last year signed a deal to buy LNG shipped from Louisiana by Venture Global. EU countries should follow this strategy.
At the end of 2024, Kyiv finally turned off Russia’s gas pipeline gas to Europe with the completion of a decades-old deal that allowed the transit of natural gas produced by Russian energy giant Gazprom through Ukraine. But pipeline gas continues to flow to parts of Europe through Turkey. That loophole needs addressing, too.
Another sanctions gap
Energy isn’t the only sanctions gap that Europe has to seal. An American Enterprise Institute report by Chris Miller and Caroline Nowak last year concluded that “Russian mineral and metal export volumes remain largely untouched.” Russia exports of cobalt, lead, titanium, platinum, and gold have all risen since the start of the war.
At a Hudson Institute panel discussion in February, Oleksandr Kalenkov, president of Ukraine’s trade association for metals, said that Europe is his industry’s home market, but “it is really painful to see that Russian products are still imported by the European Union.”
He pointed to EU exemptions for such Russian steel inputs as pig iron and iron ore and to “high quotas that haven’t hurt” Russian exporters of products like slabs that are used to make steel coils and plates. Kalenkov says that European countries are buying about $4 billion worth of Russian metal products a year.
Sanctions require a consensus of the EU’s 27 countries, and member states like Italy, Belgium, Denmark, and the Czech Republic host Russian factories, such as steel rolling plants, that use Russian metal inputs. “The Russians are taking hostage the employees of these plants,” says Kalenkov. “It’s a sad situation.”
And an utterly unnecessary one. Europeans can force the sale of those Russian plants or get metals from other countries, including Ukraine, which is doubly suffering. First, the Russians have destroyed many of their metal factories, including the 95-year-old Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, one of the largest in Europe; second, the Russians are still selling into European markets with cheaper metals, squeezing out Ukrainian competitors.
Russia’s economic pain
Evidence is increasing that the Russian economy is faltering. Financial Times commentator Martin Sandbu wrote in January that “Russia’s war economy is a house of cards.” Hudson Institute’s Peter Rough and Thomas Duesterberg reported, “While the Kremlin’s own figures put countrywide inflation at 9%, interest rates in Russia tell a different story: 21% for private debt, with reports hinting at up to 25% soon.”
Russia also has a “chronic shortage of workers,” writes Olga Chyzh of the University of Toronto inthe Guardian, “thanks to its ageing population and the exodus of some 700,000 working-age individuals at the start of the war.”
Europe can’t back Ukraine on the one hand and keep sending billions to Russia on the other. The time to end this absurdity is now.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
State lawmakers across the U.S. have introduced at least 240 anti-China proposals this year, aiming to ensure public funds don’t buy Chinese technology or even T-shirts, coffee mugs and key chains for tourists. They’re also targeting sister-city relationships between American and Chinese communities.
After years celebrating trade ties with China, states don’t want police to buy Chinese drones, government agencies to use Chinese apps, software or parts, or public pension systems to invest in Chinese companies. A new Kansas law covers artificial intelligence and medical equipment, while in Arkansas, the targets include sister-city ties and state and local contracts for promotional items. Tennessee now prohibits health insurance coverage for organ transplants performed in China or with organs from China.
“Either the United States or China is going to lead the world in the next few decades,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said after successfully pushing a wide-ranging “Communist China Defense” package into law. “For me, I want it to be the U.S.”
The push started well before President Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on China, but his posture is encouraging state officials, particularly fellow Republicans. Sanders said her efforts compliment Trump’s trade policies.
Trump’s first term prompted a shift
Anti-China proposals have been introduced this year in at least 41 states, but mostly in GOP-controlled legislatures, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.
Trump’s rhetoric encouraged the push since his first term, said Kyle Jaros, an associate professor of global affairs at the University of Notre Dame who writes about China’s relationships with U.S. states. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic soured American attitudes.
“The first Trump administration had a very different message than the preceding Obama administration about state and local engagement with China,” Jaros said. “It tended to not see the value.”
An effort with little political risk
Playing a “patriotism card” against China resonates with U.S. voters, said David Adkins, a former Kansas legislator who is CEO of the nonpartisan Council on State Governments.
“Politicians of both parties, at all levels of government, pay no price for vilifying China,” Adkins said in an email.
John David Minnich, a scholar of modern China and assistant professor at the London School of Economics, attributed states’ measures largely to “targeted, strategic lobbying,” not a popular pressure.
Some state officials also began seeing China as a concrete threat when a Chinese balloon flew over the U.S. in 2023, said Sara Newland, an associate professor of government at Smith College who conducts research with Jaros.
“There is this idea that a Chinese investment is actually going to result in the Chinese government spying on individual people or threatening food security in a particular area,” she said.
Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, a retired Army colonel, said countering China is a “joint effort” for states and the U.S. government. He championed a new law greatly limiting property ownership within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of a military installation in Kansas by firms and people tied to foreign adversaries — China, but also Cuba, Iran and North Korea.
“All of us have a part to play,” Croft said.
Some skepticism greets state efforts
Further limiting foreign property ownership remains popular, with at least 46 proposals in 24 states, but critics liken imposing restrictions to selling snow shovels to Miami residents.
Together, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Cuban interests owned less than 1% of the nation’s 1.27 billion acres of agricultural land at the end of 2023, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Chinese interests’ share was about 277,000 acres, or two-hundredths of 1%.
And in Arkansas, only the state capital of Little Rock is affected by the ban on sister-city relationships.
Even conservatives have questions
Misgivings about anti-China measures extend even to conservative North Dakota, where a Chinese company’s plan to develop farmland near an Air Force base inspired anti-China efforts that spread elsewhere.
Some North Dakota lawmakers wanted to divest a state fund holding billions of dollars in oil tax revenues from Chinese companies. But the Senate killed a weaker version of the measure last week.
Republican Sen. Dale Patten suggested during the debate that lawmakers backing the bill were being inconsistent.
“I would guess that this body right now is already heavily invested in neckties that have been manufactured in China, if we want to flip our ties over and take a look at it,” Patten said. “That’s how difficult it is when we talk about doing something like this.”
States aren’t likely done with China
Minnich said if Trump’s tariffs get China to reset relations with the U.S., that would undercut what states have done. If Trump seeks “sustained decoupling,” state measures likely will have minimal effect on China in the short-term, compared to Trump’s policies, he said.
Yet states don’t seem likely to stop.
Joras said they do have valid concerns about potential Chinese cyberattacks and whether critical infrastructure relies too heavily on Chinese equipment.
“The vast majority of China’s threats to the U.S. are in cyberspace,” he said. “Some of those defenses are still not solid.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leveled harsh criticism at the operations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday even as he tried to reassure nervous investors that the United States would maintain its global leadership role.
“America first does not mean America alone,” he said in a speech to the Institute of International Finance, where he also promised support for the multilateral banks’ core missions. “To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners.”
Although Bessent said the IMF and the World Bank are “falling short,” he did not call for the U.S. to withdraw from the institutions, as some conservatives had advocated in a Project 2025 proposal created by the Heritage Foundation.
He said the institutions “serve critical roles in the international system. And the Trump administration is eager to work with them — so long as they can stay true to their missions.”
It was the latest example of how Bessent, a former hedge fund manager who keeps a close eye on the financial markets, has tried to calm the economic turmoil as President Donald Trump tries to rewire international trade through aggressive tariffs. But his efforts to provide clarity have repeatedly bumped up against Trump, who has contradicted him on policy changes or suggested that more tariffs are coming in ways that have amplified a sense of uncertainty.
That same drama played out later on Wednesday as Trump suggested he would choose tariff rates if no deals were reached.
“By the way, if we don’t have a deal with a company or a country, we’re going to set the tariff,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “That will happen, I would say, over the next couple of weeks … over the next two, three weeks we’ll be setting the number.”
Trump’s launch and then delay of new tariffs has created uncertainty about his policy goals, with the U.S. president indicating that he both wants new agreements and tariff revenues in order to reduce income taxes.
“That money is going to be used to reduce taxes,” Trump said. “We’re going to get big, big tax breaks.”
The U.S. president also suggested that he might increase import taxes on autos from Canada. Trump has a 25% tariff on autos, although there are some exemptions related to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and automakers are seeking other policy changes to minimize the tariff burden. Trump has separate 25% tariffs on Canadian goods ostensibly to address drug smuggling into the U.S.
“I really don’t want cars from Canada,” Trump said, “So when I put tariffs on Canada, they’re paying 25%, but that could go up in terms of cars. When we put tariffs on, all we’re doing is we’re saying, ‘We don’t want your cars, in all due respect.’”
Trump cautioned that he’s not currently considering additional auto tariffs, but he said there could be an increase.
After Bessent’s remarks, reporters asked him about a Wall Street Journal article that said the huge U.S. tariffs that the Republican president has levied on China could be cut in half, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Bessent said: “I’d be surprised if that discussion is happening.” However, he said he expects “there’d have to be a de-escalation” from Washington and Beijing’s trade confrontation.
Trump had said on Tuesday that the 145% tariffs on China could “come down substantially.” And then on Wednesday, he told reporters that “everybody wants to be a part of what we’re doing” and “everyone’s going to be happy.”
Later in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports” that “there will be no unilateral reduction in tariffs against China.”
“The president has made it clear China needs to make a deal with the United States of America,” she said. “And we are optimistic that will happen.”
Still, Bessent’s speech in Washington represented a broadside against the IMF and the World Bank, which provide loans and other financial support around the world.
He said the Trump administration “will leverage U.S. leadership and influence at these institutions and push them to accomplish their important mandates.”
Some of Bessent’s criticisms echoed the Trump administration’s efforts to root out progressive ideology from federal institutions. Bessent said the IMF “has suffered from mission creep” and “devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender and social issues.”
He said there were similar problems at the World Bank, which he said “should no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by half-hearted commitments to reform.”
Despite the criticism, Bessent’s support for the IMF and World Bank came as a relief for development bankers and analysts, who partly expected an announcement of a U.S. withdrawal from the organizations.
Last October, Jay Shambaugh, former undersecretary for international affairs, alluded to a Project 2025 proposal for the U.S. to pull out of the IMF and World Bank if Trump won the 2024 election. Shambaugh said at the time that without U.S. leadership, “We would have less influence and we would weaken these institutions. We cannot afford that.”
Bessent instead, conveyed a message of deepening U.S. involvement with the institutions. But one of the problems, Bessent said, is that China is still treated like a developing country, which gives it more favorable treatment from global institutions. With China as the second-largest economy in the world, he said, “It’s an adult economy.”
Despite growing friction between Beijing and Washington, Bessent said, “There is an opportunity for a big deal here.”
Bessent wants the U.S. to boost manufacturing while China increases consumption, making its economy less reliant on flooding the globe with cheap exports. “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together,” he said. “This is an incredible opportunity.”
Beijing said Wednesday that “exerting pressure is not the right way to deal with China and simply will not work.”
For centuries, the head of the Roman Catholic Church has been chosen through what’s known as a papal conclave. The proceedings are cloaked in secrecy, making them the subject of speculation and intrigue.
More than 100 senior members of the clergy, known as cardinals, meet in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast ballots. They aren’t allowed to leave or communicate with the outside world until they’ve reached an agreement. The process can last days, weeks, sometimes years.
The Origins
The word conclave comes from the Latin words cum and clavis, the idea being that the cardinals are kept “under lock and key” until they’ve decided on a new leader, a tradition that dates back to the 13th century.
The conclave in the Italian city of Viterbo that followed the death of Pope Clement IV lasted from 1268 to 1271, making it the longest in history. Frustrated townspeople tore the roof off the papal palace and fed the cardinals only bread and water in an attempt to force a decision. Eventually the cardinals were ordered not to leave until they had come to an agreement. To avoid a repeat of those chaotic scenes, firm rules for papal elections were laid down in 1276.
The Sistine Chapel was designated as the permanent location for papal enclaves in 1878. Nowadays, cardinals attending a conclave sleep in the Santa Marta residence inside the Vatican. They aren’t allowed to have any electronic devices or contact with the outside world, and make their way to the chapel every day until the conclave ends.
The Significance
The pope has no formal say in secular matters, yet he wields considerable influence in Rome and around the world, through the Church and its 1.4 billion followers, and via the Holy See’s own diplomatic corps.
Each pope has his own way of dealing with politics. John Paul II, a Pole, was seen as a bridge between western democracies and Eastern Europe during the Cold War, even supporting the Polish trade union Solidarity that played a major role in the downfall of communism.
Benedict XVI, who was pope from 2005 until he resigned in 2013, was regarded as more of a theologian, with limited interest in world affairs. His successor Francis, who died on Monday, was outspoken on politics, even clashing publicly with US President Donald Trump on his plans for migration.
In Italy, the Pope is a significant figure in national affairs, with governments of different political creeds working to maintain strong relations with the Vatican and consulting the pontiff on issues as varied as tax law or LGBTQ rights.
The Process
After the death or resignation of a pope, responsibility for Church matters passes to the Sacred College of Cardinals, whose first priority is to prepare for the next conclave. A mourning period of 15 days is usually observed before this can begin.
The college comprises bishops and Vatican officials from all over the world, chosen personally by former popes. Each nomination is significant because it can affect the stance of the college on various matters and hence the origins and views of the next pontiff.
According to canon law, only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. While the conclave should consist of no more than 120 electors, this limit hasn’t always been respected. In December 2024, Pope Francis appointed 21 new cardinals, taking the total to more than 130.
Discussions and four rounds of balloting take place each day until a candidate — almost certainly one of the cardinals who is part of the conclave — receives two-thirds of votes.
The Decision
The results of each ballot are counted aloud and noted. If no one receives the necessary votes, the ballot papers are burned in a stove near the chapel, with a chemical added to make the smoke black. Once the cardinals are finally agreed, the final-round ballots are burned with chemicals producing white smoke that emerges over the Vatican, signaling to the world that a new pope has been chosen.
The proceedings in the Sistine Chapel take place in strict secrecy, a tradition that dates from the 13th century when the papacy was an important player in European politics and major powers would try to influence the outcome, occasionally resorting to threats and bribery. The secret ballot has been maintained through the centuries in order to defend the independence and freedom of the cardinals. Even today, any leak of voting intentions before or during the conclave could be seen as an attempt to influence the outcome.
The Roman Catholic faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square to observe the smoke signals and learn who will be their new spiritual leader.
The dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals asks the winner of the ballot if he accepts his election. If he does, he chooses a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments before appearing at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to bless the crowd and the rest of the world.
Being in the C-suite is a high-pressure job with long hours, board responsibilities, and intense scrutiny. But what is it like to be a top executive when you’re off the clock?
Fortune’s series, The Good Life, shows how up-and-coming leaders spend their time and money outside of work.
Today, we meet Cisco’s U.K. CEO, Sarah Walker.
The 45-year-old Fortune 500 boss started out in the world of work at her local sports centre, manually setting up bowling pins at just 11 years old.
Looking back, she says, the early job experience taught her “a ton of skills I would later use in my future sales career, like staying self-motivated and gamifying work to keep things fun and productive.”
Unlike aspirational new hires today—Gen Z job hops every two years and three months, on average—since her bowling stint, Walker has had just two employers.
But you’d be foolish to think that means her career was by any means stagnant.
In 1997, Walker joined the £18 billion ($24 bn) British telecommunications giant BT, where she scaled its ranks over 25 years, from the sales team to its director of corporate and public sector.
Promotion after promotion, she earned multiple internal “Directors Club Awards”—recognition that came with lavish reward trips. One of the most memorable? A once-in-a-lifetime getaway to Cannes and Monaco with her mum.
“Fun fact? Nearly every internet connection in the U.K. touches Cisco. From the NHS to the police force and even the FTSE 100, we help keep things connected and secure,”
Sarah Walker
Following a mini micro-retirement, she then joined Cisco as managing director in 2022. Just two years later, she was promoted to the top job as chief executive of Cisco U.K. and Ireland—now she’s steering the tech giant through the fast lane of digital transformation, with clients ranging from high-street retailers to global banks.
“Fun fact? Nearly every internet connection in the U.K. touches Cisco. From the NHS to the police force and even the FTSE 100, we help keep things connected and secure,” she adds. “I’m beyond excited to keep the momentum going.”
The finances
Fortune: What’s been the best investment you’ve ever bought?
I’ve always been quite sensible with money. I had a relatively comfortable upbringing, which, whilst we didn’t want for anything, taught me valuable lessons on budgeting and prioritising what’s important. At 18, I took the plunge and got my first mortgage—it felt like the smart move at the time.
The property was £45,000 which felt like a huge number back in the day. It put me firmly on the property ladder early, which I’m super grateful for.
And the worst?
Ah, cars when I was younger! The alloys on some of them were worth more than the car itself.
If you have children, what does your childcare arrangements look like?
My two are older now—one’s off to university, and the other is a pretty self-sufficient 15-year-old with a part-time job at an after-school club. Those hectic childcare days are (thankfully) behind me, although I still very clearly remember the juggle!
“At 18, I took the plunge and got my first mortgage—it felt like the smart move at the time.”
What are your living arrangements like: Swanky apartment in the city or suburban sprawling?
I am lucky to be living in my forever home, which is a restored Victorian house in the Wirral. I love being able to head back home and spending time on the coast after a busy week of travelling. It means I have my family and friends on my doorstep. Technically, I’m 30 seconds from the office, as I primarily work from home when not travelling. The nearest Cisco office is approximately 50 miles away, and it’s about 200 miles to our office in London. All my senior leadership team is based outside of London so we meet up all over the U.K.
How do you commute to work?
Most days, it’s just a quick walk up the stairs to my home office! But when I’m visiting customers or partners, I’m all about mixing it up; planes, trains, cars, you name it. That said, I do love a good road trip.
Do you carry a wallet?
I’ve got a purse for every occasion to match my bags, though these days Apple Pay is my go-to.
What personal finance advice would you give your 20-year-old self?
Keep doing what you’re doing, but don’t waste so much on rubbish cars!
What’s the one subscription you can’t live without?
Amazon Prime. It’s not just deliveries—I’ve got so many auto-renewing subscriptions tied to it. Losing it would be chaos!
Where’s your go-to wristwatch from?
For everyday wear, it’s my Apple Watch. I’m obsessed with the data (comes with the job!). For special moments, I’m lucky enough to be able to wear my Rolex, or a beautiful Cartier watch that my husband gave me for my 30th.
The necessities
How do you get your daily coffee fix?
I’m more of a matcha fan these days! I use my Krups coffee machine as a high-tech milk frother to mix almond milk with matcha powder.
What about eating on the go?
When I’m in the office, Itsu is my usual go-to place. If I’m grabbing a sit-down meal, I love light Japanese food—I’m a big fan of Roka.
Where do you buy groceries?
I am a traditionalist. In our household, Sunday mornings are spent doing the ‘big shop’ in Sainsbury’s. During the week, we’ll grab quick top-ups from M&S.
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home?
We tend to cook most nights as the kitchen is the heart of our home. But Saturdays are usually an eating-out day, squeezed between the kids’ football and taking the dog for a walk.
Where do you shop for your work wardrobe?
For me, it’s all about the style, not the label! Everything from Zara to vintage designer brands makes it into my wardrobe.
The treats
Are you the proud owner of any futuristic gadgets?
I recently took the plunge and bought my husband the Meta glasses for Christmas, which have proven to be great fun for all the family. Plus, I’ve got an Oura ring that’s become my go-to for tracking my sleep and wellness goals.
I have become quite fascinated with wellness in my 40’s, I love the insights the Oura ring shares, resilience, readiness. It is amazing the things it can detect through subtle changes in your body.
How do you unwind from the top job?
Weekends are a whirlwind of family stuff. I’m basically a full-time taxi driver, shuttling the kids to sports clubs and helping them keep up with their social lives. It’s non-stop, but I honestly love switching gears and just being in mum mode.
Cooking dinner and walking the dog are my favourite ways to relax. I’ve also started reformer Pilates, which I’m totally hooked on! And once a month, I book a Reiki session—it’s a game-changer.
What’s the best bonus treat you’ve bought yourself?
Bonuses usually go straight into the holiday fund. The best one was when we took a month out to travel across Australia and Bali, we will remember that trip forever.
How do you treat yourself when you get a promotion?
When I get promoted, it’s usually a new bag! For my recent role as Chief Executive, we kept it simple and celebrated with a lovely family meal.
Take us on holiday with you, what’s next on your vacation list?
Our big trip this year will be a family holiday to Orlando, Florida for what may well be our last family trip to the theme parks before the kids get too old. After the theme parks, we’ll then travel down the coast for the second part of the holiday. We’ve also got a few smaller weekend trips planned, including a visit to the Lake District for my birthday and we’ve booked to go to Paris to celebrate mine and my husband’s 18 year wedding anniversary.
How many days annual leave do you take a year?
We travel about four to five times a year, mixing U.K. staycations with European city breaks and one big family holiday. Lake Windermere and Dubai are regulars for us, but we love exploring new places, too!
Here at The Good Life you don’t have to imagine what life at the top looks like anymore: Get real-life inspiration for how the most successful live life.
Fortune wants to hear from European leaders on what their “Good Life” looks like. Get in touch: orianna.royle@fortune.com
Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell will run the Catholic Church for a brief period following the death of Pope Francis. As camerlengo, he is in charge of overseeing the church’s operations and assets until a new pope is elected. The conclave is expected to take place in 15 to 20 days.
The death of Pope Francis has put into motion a choreographed period of succession at the Catholic church. As the faithful await the conclave, however, and the naming of the next pope, the Vatican still needs a leader. And for now, that job falls on the shoulders of Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell.
Raised in Dublin, Farrell was tapped by Pope Francis in 2019 to act as “camerlengo,” a role that has him overseeing the church’s operations and assets until a new pope is elected, as well as overseeing the conclave.
His duties are more extensive, however.
The camerlengo is the church official who verifies the pope’s death, then takes the Ring of the Fisherman from the pope’s hand and cuts it into pieces, signifying the end of that pontiff’s reign (and preventing it from being used to forge documents in his name).
Most of his time thereafter will be spent assisting the dean of the College of Cardinals in arranging the papal conclave, which typically takes place 15 to 20 days after the pope has died. There, cardinals will debate and vote for the next ruler of the church. Farrell can be elected, but is not considered to be a front-runner for the job.
While he’s Irish by birth, Farrell, 77, has spent time in Mexico, Rome, and the U.S., where he served as a bishop of the Diocese of Dallas from 2007 to 2016. He was summoned to the Vatican and appointed as a cardinal in 2016. That call to Rome, though, came as a surprise, he said at a press conference several years ago.
“And my assistant, administrative assistant, came in and said, ‘The pope’s on the telephone, and I felt like saying, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ Eventually she did put on the pope, and he told me that he would like me to go to Rome because Dallas needed a much better bishop than I am,” Farrell joked.
While Farrell and Pope Francis did not see eye to eye on several matters, particularly the issue of same-sex marriage, Francis named him as camerlengo in 2019.
