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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with Donald Trump.

Don’t mention the war! Trump drops Pearl Harbour bomb in another excruciating White House moment

Japan’s prime minister was bracing for a difficult meeting with the US president when it took an unexpected diversion back to Japan’s role in World War II.

  • Lisa Visentin

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Trump trade wars, paid for by American companies and consumers, are hurting the US economy and adding to households’ affordability issues even as his war on Iran has sent oil prices – and US petrol prices – surging.

Trump rushes to save his war on the world

While America was waging war in Iran, the US president began preparing for a renewed assault on America’s trading partners.

  • Stephen Bartholomeusz
“The policy hasn’t changed’: US trade ambassador Jamieson Greer speaks during the Australian Super Summit in Washington.

New tariffs coming: Trump fires fresh trade salvo at 15 countries, EU

The move came as US trade representative Jamieson Greer told an audience at the Australian embassy in Washington: “If your point is ‘take down all the tariffs’, we’re not going to get along.”

  • Michael Koziol
A man walks near a large sculpture of the Communist Party flag at the Chinese Communist Party History Exhibition in Beijing, China.

China’s latest plan to dominate global trade

China’s latest five-year plan seeks to cement its grip on artificial intelligence and other high-tech sectors and expand exports that are already destabilising other economies.

  • Stephen Bartholomeusz
US President Donald Trump has threatened higher tariffs on any country that “played games” with his new tariff regime.

Trump’s new tariffs will look nothing like the old ones

The tariffs that replace those deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court will require a much more complex and time-consuming process than Trump’s initial “beautiful” tariffs.

  • Stephen Bartholomeusz
Donald Trump at an event in Washington on Monday.

Trump’s new worldwide tariff goes into effect – and it’s back to 10 per cent

Meanwhile, cargo giant FedEx has sued the Trump administration for “a full refund” of the tariffs Trump imposed using emergency powers that were ruled unlawful by the nation’s highest court last week.

  • Michael Koziol
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A powerful US trade lobby has branded Australia’s plans to force Google, Meta and TikTok to pay media companies for news a “tax”.

Google, Meta take aim at Australian plan for tech giants to pay for journalism

A powerful trade group has branded Australia’s plans to force the tech giants to support local media a “tax” that could breach Australia’s free trade deal with the US.

  • John Buckley
Trump has wielded the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a multipurpose weapon, using it and the tariffs he imposed to, not just force countries into extremely one-sided trade deals, but as geopolitical leverage.

Mad king: Trump just lost his superpower

The US president had access to royal-like powers and he wielded them recklessly. The Supreme Court just took them away.

  • Stephen Bartholomeusz
President Donald Trump.

Trump to raise new worldwide tariff to 15 per cent after Supreme Court loss

The US president did not indicate exemptions for countries where the US already has a trade surplus, such as Australia.

  • Michael Koziol
US President Donald Trump during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. Trump delivered a broadside against Supreme Court justices after they struck down the bulk of his sweeping global tariffs, delivering a major blow against his signature economic policy. Photographer: Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg

Court gives Trump a harsh lesson in the limits of his power

An irritated president, whose global tariffs were struck down, clearly felt betrayed by the Supreme Court justices he appointed. But the ruling shows the system still works as intended.

  • Michael Koziol