The Daily Insight: February 10, 2025

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Trump to Impose Tariffs on All Steel and Aluminum Imports

Here are the latest updates from the Trump administration:

• Metal tariffs: President Trump said that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports starting Monday and would take other action to even out tariff rates with the rest of the world later in the week. The president said the metals tariffs would apply to "everybody," including Canada and Mexico, America's allies and its largest trading partners.
• Vance attacks judges: Vice President JD Vance characterized as "illegal" rulings by federal judges blocking several of the Trump administration's sweeping executive actions, raising questions about whether the administration would abide by judicial decisions. The president, speaking on Sunday about one such ruling, which restricted Elon Musk's efforts to gain access to data at the Treasury Department, said, "No judge should, frankly, be allowed to make that kind of decision."
• Financial watchdog: Russell Vought, one of the most powerful architects of the Trump plan to upend the federal bureaucracy ordered the headquarters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shut for the coming week. In an all-staff email on Monday morning, he reiterated his directions: "Please do not perform any work tasks," he wrote, telling employees to contact the agency's chief legal officer and get approval in writing before doing anything related to their jobs. The union representing workers sued to block the moves.

In Other News: A federal judge in New Hampshire issued an injunction Monday blocking President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, the third federal judge to do so. The executive order instructed the government to stop recognizing as citizens any children who are born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrant parents.

Nasdaq Leads Indexes Higher; Metals Stocks Jump

President Trump launched another broadside against America's trading partners. Markets mostly shrugged.

After the president said he plans to put 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, major U.S. stock indexes rose, led by the Nasdaq. Shares of U.S. Steel, Alcoa and other producers of the two metals were up sharply in morning trading. Steel-futures prices rose.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the Mexican peso, the Japanese yen and the Canadian dollar. Canada is the biggest exporter of steel and aluminum to the U.S.

Broadly, though, global markets were calm. Tariff fatigue might be part of the explanation. After Trump's zig-zags over tariffs on Canada, Mexico and Colombia in recent weeks, many investors think the president sees trade taxes as a negotiating cudgel. It also reflects relief that Trump appears to be leaning against across-the-board tariffs. The president has hinted he may instead impose reciprocal levies on countries that charge tariffs on U.S. goods.

In recent trading:

• Stock indexes rose: The Dow industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all advanced, with the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent.
• Steel futures prices jumped nearly 6 percent.
• Overseas stock markets mostly rose. The Stoxx Europe 600 pushed higher, approaching a new record. BP shares gained more than 7 percent after activist investor Elliot Management took a stake, while Alibaba climbed 5.5 percent in Hong Kong.
• U.S. Treasury prices were broadly steady. The 10-year yield was recently at 4.487 percent, little changed from Friday.
• Gold futures extended a record-setting rally, with the most active contracts trading above $2,925 a troy ounce.

Trump says Palestinians Displaced by U.S. Proposal would not Return; Hamas Delays Hostage Release

Palestinians displaced from Gaza to neighboring countries under a U.S. proposal would not have the right to return to the enclave, President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News about his proposal to "own" the Gaza Strip and develop real estate there.

Fox released a portion of the interview, conducted by Bret Baier, early Monday. "Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land," Trump said of the proposal, which he first floated last week during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington.

Asked by Baier if Palestinians would be allowed to return to Gaza, Trump replied: "No, they wouldn't because they're going to have much better housing. In other words, I'm talking about building a permanent place for them." Trump mentioned Jordan and Egypt as countries that Gaza's Palestinians would be sent to, and he expressed optimism about making a "deal" with the two governments.

Hamas on Monday said it would delay "until further notice" the release of three Israeli hostages set for Saturday, in what would be the first major setback for the ceasefire and hostage release deal. Hamas cited recent Israeli shelling and gunfire in Gaza, along with insufficient flow of aid, in a statement announcing the move, which came as Trump's remarks about Gaza's future injected uncertainty into negotiations.

Trump's initial proposal last week for the United States to "take over" Gaza and displace all its residents prompted a swift rejection from Saudi Arabia and sparked anger in nearby countries, including Jordan, that are already home to millions of Palestinian refugees. Jordan's leader, King Abdullah II, is set to meet the president in Washington on Tuesday.

Here's what else to know:

• Israel's military withdrew Sunday from the Netzarim Corridor - a line of fortified checkpoints dividing the central Gaza Strip - as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, the militant group said, allowing Palestinians to begin traveling toward the north. Photos showed people traveling from the south of the enclave in vehicles piled high with mattresses and other belongings.
• Israel sent a negotiating team over the weekend to Qatar, where talks for the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire are set to occur. Three male Israeli hostages were released Saturday in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fifth round of releases under the current ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups.
• Five Thai nationals released by Hamas on January 30 landed in Bangkok early Sunday, local media reported. They are in good health, Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said, adding that the government has pressed for the release of one remaining Thai national held hostage.

The Evolving Threat Landscape: Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Security

We must preserve the indispensable role of human judgement. While artificial intelligence could serve as a valuable decision making tool, its use in sensitive nuclear assets introduces potential safety, reliability and ethical concerns. Extensive coordination and partnership between global actors is imperative, given the fact that potential consequences are significant.

Read our latest Special Report.

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