New autos tariffs loom

Plus, Ukraine allies meet in Paris.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas Donald Trump followed through on weeks of threats with new tariffs on imported cars. Automaker stocks around the world slumped.  Elsewhere, we are covering a "coalition of the willing" summit in Paris, South Korea's worst ever wildfires and new challenges for the top oilfield in the United States. Today's Top News   Long-promised duties on autos seen driving up prices and slowing production. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki/File Photo Trump's tariffs Global auto stocks tumbled and governments from Ottawa to Berlin threatened retaliation after US President Donald Trump unveiled a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, expanding a trade war and testing strained ties with allies. The new levies take effect on April 3. Tune in to today's Reuters World News podcast to hear Economics and Financial Markets Editor Dan Burns break down how the tariffs will hit the American driver and domestic carmakers. Trump said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the short video app used by 170 million Americans. Ukraine-Russia war Some 30 leaders are meeting in Paris today to discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy how to strengthen military support, review ceasefire efforts and assess what role they could play if a peace deal is struck with Russia. In the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine has been fighting for more than seven months, people say they want peace but fear there will be more war. The damage that has been unleashed on towns and cities in the Russian region has brought home the horrors of war long suffered by Ukrainians. In other news Welfare cuts announced by Britain will drive 250,000 into relative poverty by the end of the decade and leave millions of families with less cash, according to the government's own estimates. Separately, we look at Prime Minister Keir Starmer's bid to revitalize the National Health Service as the Reform UK party gains ground. Wildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size from a day earlier, as authorities called the blazes the country's worst natural fire disaster with at least 27 people killed. South Koreans are also mourning a historic temple burnt by the wildfire. The Sudanese army drove its rival Rapid Support Forces from most of Khartoum city, residents said, as the army chief toured the presidential palace and airport, marking a major military gain though the wider war looks far from over. Business & Markets   US oil producers are grappling with geological limits to production growth as the country's top oilfield ages and produces more water and gas and less oil - and may be nearing peak output. China's industrial profits slipped in the first two months of 2025, signaling a challenging period ahead for businesses as they navigate persistent deflationary forces and an escalating trade war with the United States. The global heads of automakers BMW and Mercedes, as well as chip giant Qualcomm, are among foreign business leaders due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, sources said. India's central bank is set to double to 10% a cap on investment by individual foreign investors in listed companies, as it aims to boost capital inflows, according to two senior government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. Russian agricultural producer Rusagro has lost nearly a third of its value on the Moscow stock exchange since news of the arrest of its billionaire founder Vadim Moshkovich emerged. He is the most prominent businessman to be arrested in Russia for years. The transatlantic trustbusting consensus forged by Lina Khan and Margrethe Vestager is already fraying. In this week's Viewsroom podcast, our Breakingviews columnists discuss if it will lead to mergers involving national champions such as GSK and BP, and in turn remedy some economic ills. These universities are in Trump's crosshairs. Many don't know why.   Trump officials target dozens of colleges for antisemitism – even those cleared by probes. REUTERS/Nathan Howard  Nearly a third – 19 in total – of the academic institutions under investigation for antisemitism by the Trump administration had already resolved earlier complaints or had never been subject to such complaints at all, according to 31 colleges' responses to Reuters queries and an analysis of publicly available records maintained by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. The seemingly haphazard composition of the list raised immediate concerns in the academic community. Read full report And Finally... Chasing cherry blossoms on an old steam train in Taiwan. REUTERS/Ann Wang Nearly a hundred passengers hopped aboard an old steam train in Taiwan this week, as the annual cherry blossom season entered full swing. The special blossom-themed train chugged up Alishan, in the southern part of the island, for a scenic six-hour journey. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. 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