| A factory making rare earth magnets in Ganzhou, China. The country produces 90 percent of the world’s rare earth magnets. Keith Bradsher/The New York Times |
China struck back at U.S. tariffs with an export pause
China has suspended exports of certain rare earth minerals and magnets that are crucial for the world’s car, semiconductor and aerospace industries. The move is in retaliation for President Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs.
The metals and the special magnets made with them can now be shipped out of China only with special export licenses. But Beijing has barely started setting up a system for issuing the licenses. Industry executives said that supplies of minerals and products outside the country could run low.
Trump’s rapidly escalating trade war with China has scrambled prospects for many global businesses. And there is no end in sight, my colleagues Ana Swanson and Ben Casselman report.
The U.S. administration has been waiting for the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, to call Trump, but Beijing appears wary of putting Xi in an unpredictable situation with the U.S. president.
Charm offensive: Today, Xi will arrive in Vietnam, his first stop on a weeklong tour that will also take him to Malaysia and Cambodia. He is expected to oversee the signing of around 40 agreements, including deals that would advance plans for Vietnam to accept Chinese loans for part of an $8.3 billion railway connecting northern Vietnam with China.
| More on the trade warThe Trump administration signaled that it would pursue new tariffs on computer chips, just two days after it excluded a variety of electronics.American consumers are racing to buy car seats, iPhones and Christmas gifts.How much are tariffs on Chinese goods? Calculating them is trickier than you think.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has taken center stage in the trade war, has managed to moderate Trump’s approach, to a degree.U.S. retailers are weighing whether to raise prices on their goods or to eat the extra cost.Here’s how Brexit foreshadowed Trump’s tariffs.Many of Taiwan’s small exporters said the uncertainty was as bad as the tariffs.Track Trump’s actions since he took office. |
| The site of the Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, yesterday. Oleg Voronenko/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
A Russian attack killed at least 34 in Ukraine
Two Russian ballistic missiles slammed into the city center of Sumy, Ukraine, where people had gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday. At least 34, including two children, were killed yesterday in what appeared to be the deadliest attack against civilians this year.
Video of the Russian strike and its aftermath showed mangled and bloodied bodies lying motionless, burning cars and debris covering the road, as screams and sirens wailed in the background.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said the attack showed that Moscow had no real interest in a cease-fire despite the Trump administration’s efforts to broker one. Kyiv has warned that Russia is preparing to push into the Sumy region, in Ukraine’s northeast, and open a new front in the war.
Politics: Petro Poroshenko, a former president who now leads an opposition party, spoke to our Kyiv bureau chief about prospects for peace talks. He has recently stepped up his criticism of Zelensky.
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. held talks on nuclear technology
The Trump administration revived talks with Saudi officials over a deal that would give Saudi Arabia access to U.S. nuclear technology and potentially allow the country to enrich uranium.
“We’ve not reached the details on an agreement, but it certainly looks like there is a pathway to do that,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said yesterday in Riyadh. For years, Saudi Arabia has pressed the U.S. to help it develop a nuclear energy program, as Saudi officials look beyond oil to provide energy and diversify the economy.
Iran: After a first meeting, U.S. and Iranian officials agreed to move forward in their talks on curbing Tehran’s nuclear program. A second meeting is planned for Saturday.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
| The Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza after an Israeli strike yesterday. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times |
| Gaza: The Israeli military struck a hospital in northern Gaza that was one of the last mainstays of the health care system there. Hong Kong: Members of the opposition Democratic Party voted to disband, one more casualty of Beijing’s suppression campaign. Sudan: Paramilitaries killed the entire staff, including the head doctor, of the last medical clinic in a camp in western Darfur. Ecuador: President Daniel Noboa was decisively re-elected in a race that showed voters’ faith in his vows to tackle persistent drug violence. New York: A Spanish family died in a helicopter crash. Passengers who flew on the aircraft earlier that day are processing the shock. Tech: A landmark antitrust case against Meta opens today in Washington. It could have ripple effects for Silicon Valley. Africa: Somaliland wants to make a deal with Trump in which the U.S. would lease a port and an airstrip in exchange for international recognition. U.S.: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that 10 more gang members had been sent to El Salvador. Hundreds have already been deported, often with little justification. Immigration: The Trump administration again asserted that a judge couldn’t force it to bring back a man who was unlawfully deported to El Salvador. Dominican Republic: See the moments leading up to the roof collapse at a nightclub in Santo Domingo. Health: New research about A.D.H.D. raises questions about the way we define and treat the condition. Here are the key findings. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Golf: Rory McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to win his first Masters title. F1: Oscar Piastri secured pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz won the Monte Carlo Masters title, reclaiming the No. 2 ranking. |
| MORNING READ |
As climate change melts ice in the Arctic, the region is becoming more accessible and contested. The world’s major militaries from the U.S., Russia, China and Europe are all training for a winter war.
A reporter and a photographer traveled to Finland to watch the war games unfold.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| Dressed for space: Blue Origin’s first all-female crew will take off for a trip into zero gravity today, wearing redesigned flight suits. Rosie O’Donnell: She has moved to Ireland, has feuded with Trump and is making documentaries. What’s next? 408 tentacles: A family went viral last year after posting about its dozens of octopuses. Then the story became a cautionary tale. Is snooping OK?: Our Ethicist columnist responds to a reader whose partner can’t stop looking through his phone. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
| “Madrid Circle” by the British artist Richard Long in the Khao Yai Art Forest in Thailand. Krittawat Atthsis and Puttisin Choojesroom, via Khao Yai Art |
Where art grows on trees
Three times a day, a fog drifts from nozzles hidden in flower beds and rolls down the hills in the Khao Yai Art Forest in Thailand. Created by the Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya, this is one of many works by global artists there that transcend nature.
The art forest, which opened in February, focuses on site-specific works, farming and Buddhism. The project’s owner, Marisa Chearavanont, was driven to buy the site by her search for healing in nature after the Covid lockdown. Take a look.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
| Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Sophia Eleni Pappas. |
Cook: This rich, slow-roasted lamb is complemented by a sauce of roasted grapes and bright lemon
