Trump Sets Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum, Altman Responds to Musk's OpenAI Offer

On today's podcast:

1) Trump Sets 25% Steel, Aluminum Tariffs, Widening Trade War

President Donald Trump ordered a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, escalating his efforts to protect politically important US industries with levies hitting some of the country’s closest allies.

The tariffs will apply widely to all US imports of steel and aluminum, including from Canada and Mexico, among the country’s top foreign suppliers of the metals. The levies, which also include finished metal products, are meant to crack down on what administration officials said were efforts by countries like Russia and China to circumvent existing duties.

2) EU Says It Will Impose Countermeasures Against US Tariffs

The European Union vowed to respond to 25% tariffs President Donald Trump said the US will impose on steel and aluminum imports, escalating a potential trade dispute with one of Washington’s closest allies.

“I deeply regret the US decision to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum exports,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a Tuesday statement. “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered — they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures.”

3) Altman Says ‘No Thank You’ to Musk-Led Group’s OpenAI Bid

A group of investors led by Elon Musk has offered to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI for $97.4 billion, escalating a clash between the Tesla chief executive and the artificial intelligence company he co-founded.

With the unsolicited bid, Musk said he hopes to return OpenAI to being “the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” according to a statement. In response, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman posted on Musk’s X social-media platform: “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

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