White House says 104% tariffs on China will take effect at midnight: Live updates

“We’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say, actually, the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military,” Trump said Monday during a White House event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Donald Trump concluded his extensive remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington, D.C., after 91 minutes.

Japan’s Nikkei saw a broad sell-off on Wednesday morning, falling as much as 4%, and other Asian markets were braced for further falls hours before President Donald Trump’s 104% tariffs against China are set to take effect.

The Trump administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to visit next week.

“These are tailored, highly tailored deals,” Trump said at a White House event, where he signed executive orders aimed at boosting coal production. “We’ve had talks with many, many countries, over 70, they all want to come in. Our problem is, can’t see that many that fast.”

With reporting from wire services

A small but growing number of Senate Democrats are using their power to gum up the works as Donald Trump’s administration continues to flout the orders of federal judges and cut programs which its critcs argue the president’s appointees lack the constitutional standing to end.

Though the minority party lacks the numbers to actually block any of the president’s political appointments without the support of several Republican defections, several senators are signaling that they plan to slow down business in the chamber unless the White House starts listening to them.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.:

As stock markets around the world continue to drop amid fears over his attempt to blow up the world’s trade system, Donald Trump says the massive import taxes he is imposing on Americans will bring about a massive victory for his Republican Party in next year’s midterm elections.

Speaking to a group of GOP officeholders and deep-pocketed Republican donors at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual fundraising gala in Washington, Trump said the stage is now “set for a monumental victory for the Republicans in the midterms” on account of his policies, which most mainstream economists and business experts say will supercharge inflation and threaten America’s status as the world’s leading economy with a grievous self-inflicted wound.

“I really think we’re helped a lot by the tariffs situation. It’s great,” he said.

The acting head of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service plans to resign over a new agreement to share the tax data of undocumented immigrants with Homeland Security personnel, The Washington Post reports, citing two people familiar with the situation.

Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause will participate in the deferred resignation program recently offered to agency employees, the newspaper said.