☕️ Explaining Trump's latest tariffs

You’ll notice below in the 10-second section we are changing up the ‘On this day’ section. Every day it will be something different. Today it’s a ‘random fact' of the day’, tomorrow it will be ‘word of the day’, and maybe on Thursday it will be ‘a TDA team member’s deepest secret’. (It won’t. But that would certainly be interesting.)

Let us know what you think!

“Absolutely not. Not in these shoes.”
NFL Philadelphia Eagles player Jordan Mailata when asked to do a shoey, after he became the first Australian to start in an win a Super Bowl yesterday.

3 in 4
The ratio of single retired women who rent that are living below the poverty line, according to a new report by the Grattan Institute.

Netflix was founded before Google
The streaming giant was founded in August 1997, whilst the search engine followed suit a year later, establishing Google Inc in August 1998. Netflix was first founded as a video rental company that mailed DVDs. The following year, it became the first online DVD rental and sales site.

Donald Trump has announced the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminium.

Australia exports hundreds of millions of dollars of steel and aluminium to the U.S. each year.

Trump has announced a number of tariffs since coming to office three weeks ago. These are the first to directly impact Australia.

Here’s what we know.

A ‘tariff’ is a tax on imports. It’s applied to foreign-made goods brought into another country, and paid by the importer.

For example: Country A and Country B make the same product. Country A wants its citizens to buy its own version of the product, not Country B’s, so it applies a tariff.

Importers in Country A now pay the tax when they bring in B’s product, and pass on the cost to consumers, making this version of the product more expensive to buy.

Since coming to power three weeks ago, Trump has tried to impose a range of tariffs.

Tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada have been temporarily paused while the countries negotiate how they will manage their U.S. borders.

A 10% tariff on all Chinese imports remains in place. The Chinese Government has responded by introducing similar levies on U.S. products including coal and crude oil.

Over the weekend, Trump announced he would impose a 25% tariff on aluminium and steel, repeating a move from his first presidency.

Steel is used in many heavy industries, such as car manufacturing and construction. Aluminium is also used in car manufacturing, and in household items including pots, pans, and foil.

According to government data, the U.S. was the world’s second largest steel importer in 2023. Its aluminium imports increased 25% between 2015 and 2022.

In 2024, the U.S. imported around $US270 million of Australian aluminium, and about $US400 million of Australian steel.

In Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had “a discussion with Trump scheduled,” and would keep “the Australian people informed”.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull successfully negotiated to avoid Trump’s previous planned tariffs in 2018.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

An independent MP has introduced a bill that would require the Government to consider the “economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing” of future generations when deciding national laws.

Independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps said the bill would combat “short-term thinking” when addressing issues such as housing, climate change, and gambling.

While the Labor Government hasn't yet formally ruled out support for the bill, it’s unlikely to pass.

So, why has a bill like this been put forward?

Under Dr Scamps’ legislation, there would be a positive duty for the government and other public bodies to consider the wellbeing of future generations.

Decision-makers would legally be bound to consider the “wellbeing” of younger people when drafting laws and policies. They would also need to release its ‘wellbeing objectives’ and report on its progress every six months.

The process would be overseen by a ‘Future Generations Commissioner’, who would be appointed through a competitive panel selection.

The Commissioner’s key role would be to “advocate for the long term interests of Australia and current and future generations.”

It would also oversee a ‘national conversation’ public forum, inviting young people, First Nations Australians, and people with disabilities to partake.

After this process, the Commissioner would publish a report observing the “medium-term and long-term trends, risks, and opportunities” that could impact Australians’ future wellbeing.

Dr Scamps argued that Australia’s short-term political cycle (one federal election every three years) has led to “futile” policy solutions to major issues.

“Australians want long-term solutions,” Dr Scamps said, pointing to research from Griffith University showing nearly all Australians (97%) support policies that take future generations into account.

“They want politicians to think beyond their own re-election prospects every three years and put some serious effort into turning the ship around for future generations.“

Any bill introduced to Parliament by a non-government politician is known as a “private members bill”. To pass, it would need the support of the government and others. This is very rare.

Although this bill doesn’t have the support of the government to pass the bill, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that he would be “having a look at the ideas” in her legislation.

The bill was backed by Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who previously co-chaired a Parliamentary Group for Future Generations, alongside Dr Scamps.

Last year, the Government rejected a more narrow proposal to create a duty to actively consider young people’s health when making climate-related decisions.

A Senate committee, led by the Labor Government, suggested the bill was too broad and there would be difficulties in protecting less tangible areas of health, like cultural and spiritual wellbeing.

The main advocate promoting the bill, Anjali Sharma, described the government’s rationale as “weak”.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 The Eagles dominate the Super Bowl. Read more.
🍊 Three Aussies conquering the world. Who?
🍊 Pressure mounts on Postecoglou. More details here.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: sailing, tennis, and more…

The Aussie is the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive tackle. His side’s 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Cheifs in today’s Super Bowl means the 27-year-old is the first Aussie to play on a winning side in the NFL championship game. Mailata was born in Western Sydney and played rugby league before he was drafted to the NFL in 2018.

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

A monkey has been blamed for a nationwide blackout in Sri Lanka.

The country’s Energy Minister said a monkey accessed a crucial bit of infrastructure, which triggered a system failure causing a nationwide power outage.

The blackout, which lasted several hours, has raised concerns about the country’s electricity infrastructure. Sri Lanka has had widespread blackouts in the past during periods of instability.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

As AI becomes increasingly ingrained in our lives, conversations around using it in an ethical and safe was have become more intense. However, a lesser-discussed concern is now gaining attention — the environmental impact of AI. AI requires immense quantities of resources, including electricity, water, and finite minerals. With its carbon footprint only expected to rise in the coming decades, we discuss the sustainability concerns surrounding this evolving technology.