Minnesota Backlash Spurs Policy Shift; Trump Vows to Raise Tariffs to 25% on South Korean Goods

On today's podcast:
1) President Trump indicated he’ll make changes to his administration’s deportation crackdown in Minnesota after the killing of two US citizens during immigration raids sparked nationwide uproar. The president said he was sending US border czar Tom Homan — who is seen as relatively measured compared to rivals, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — to Minneapolis in a bid to deescalate tensions. Trump also spoke with top Democratic officials in the state. He told Governor Tim Walz, who he has derided as “grossly incompetent,” that he would consider independent investigations into the shootings and reducing the number of federal agents in his state. The president described a subsequent conversation with Jacob Frey as “very good” and said Homan planned to meet with the Minneapolis mayor on Tuesday “in order to continue the discussion.”
2) Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK wouldn’t have to choose between the US and China, as he heralded “significant opportunities” for British businesses ahead of his trip to Beijing this week. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Starmer dismissed questions about whether he was seeking stronger ties with China at the expense of the UK’s relationship with its closest allies. Starmer’s trip to China — the first by a British prime minister in eight years — comes on the heels of a similar delegation by Canadian counterpart Mark Carney that drew fresh tariff threats from President Trump.
3) President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on goods imported from South Korea to 25%, citing what he said was the failure of the country’s legislature to codify the trade deal the two nations reached last year. Trump in a social media post on Monday said the new rate would apply to autos, lumber, pharmaceutical products and “all other Reciprocal TARIFFS.” Under the existing agreement, the president set a 15% levy on South Korean exports. If implemented, the move could have wide-ranging effects on major South Korean companies that export to the US, such as Hyundai Motor Co., which sent 1.1 million vehicles to America in 2024.

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