☕️ Trump’s big tariff change

There was big news overnight from U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced a 90 day “pause” on his reciprocal tariffs.

As a result, tariffs above 10% will be reduced back to a 10% “baseline”. That means no change for Australia, where the existing 10% tariff will remain in place (for now).

However, that’s not the case for China, with U.S. tariffs increasing to 125% based on “a lack of respect”.

Confused? You’re not alone. We’ll explain below!

"They said that’s a little bit much, but that’s OK."
Australian golfer Jason Day during an interview about his bold fashion choices at the 2024 Masters tournament. Augusta National, the tournament host, requested he tone down his look for this year’s tournament. This year’s edition got underway overnight.

11.14 seconds
Sprinter Leah O’Brien’s record time in the 100m at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships, breaking a 57-year-old national record for under 18s.

“I don’t even know my password, so if they can pass it on, it would be really good help.”
A reader’s comment on TDA’s piece about superannuation companies being targeted by cyberattacks.

Emergency services in the Dominican Republic are searching for survivors after the roof of a nightclub collapsed in the capital, Santo Domingo.

More than 98 people are believed to have been killed by the collapse, with at least 150 others injured.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has declared a national three-day mourning period.

Emergency services were called to the Jet Set nightclub around 1am Wednesday (local time).

Authorities believe around 300 people were in the audience for a concert by singer Rubby Pérez when the roof collapsed.

At least 155 people have since been rescued.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the club said the incident “has been devastating for everyone” and committed to working with authorities to understand what happened.

National tributes have been organised as family members of the deceased begin identifying the victims.

Santo Domingo mayor Carolina Mejía offered her “deepest sympathy” to anyone “still waiting for news of their loved ones.”

Among the dead are two former Major League Baseball (MLB) players and the governor of a north-western province.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause on the ‘reciprocal’ tariffs his administration had applied to roughly 60 countries.

That means many countries will have their tariffs reduced to a universal rate of 10%, except for China, which will have its tariff increased to 125%.

Australia’s tariff was always at the 10% rate (which was the minimum rate imposed), so this means there has been no change for the country.

The announcement was made on the President’s social media platform Truth Social, where he said: “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”

It comes after the U.S. increased tariffs on China to 104% yesterday, which a Chinese Government spokesperson called “economic bullying”.

Tariffs are an import tax applied to foreign-made goods brought into another country. They are paid by the importer.

Since coming to power in January, Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on imports to the U.S.

The goal of tariffs is to encourage a country’s companies and citizens to buy locally-produced goods, boosting industrial activity. Tariffs can also be influenced by geopolitical tensions and trade partnerships between countries.

Last week, on Wednesday (local time), Trump announced new tariffs on all products imported to the U.S.

Trump displayed a chart of tariffs imposed against the U.S. by other countries and claimed he was charging “approximately half” of that amount in return.

This meant several different rates were given to countries. Australia, which does not have a trade deficit with the U.S., was given the “baseline” rate of 10%.

Last week, China was hit with the highest tariff of any country, and has responded by imposing further tariffs of its own on imported U.S. goods.

Because of that response, Trump has incrementally increased China’s tariffs. Yesterday, Trump’s tariff of 104% came into effect on China.

Last night, China retaliated with a tariff of 84% on imports of U.S. goods.

This morning, Trump responded to last night’s retaliation, announcing the increase of tariffs on China to 125%. In his post on Truth Social, Trump said the decision was “based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets.”

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, has said in the past week: “Intimidation, threat and blackmail are not the right way to engage with China.”

“If the U.S... is determined to fight a tariff and trade war, China’s response will continue to the end,” Lin said.

Products imported by China to the U.S. include soybeans, gas, and phones.

For example, while Apple designs its products in the U.S, they are primarily produced by workers in Chinese factories.

In the U.S, the baseline model of the iPhone 16 costs $799 ($AU1,330). Assuming Apple passed on the tariffs to consumers in full, the phone would cost $1,630 ($AU2,720).

During Trump’s first term, Apple secured an exemption from tariffs on China for iPhones.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

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A team at Penn State University is pioneering technology that will be able to crawl through earthquake rubble to find trapped victims. Unlike traditional, rigid robots, researchers say they’re incorporating a soft robotic design made from flexible materials, “that mimic the movement of living organisms.” Its hoped this feature can be used to create ingestible robots, or ‘robot pills,’ which will carry medicine to natural disaster victims before they can be reached by rescue teams.

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

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Lady Gaga is finally coming back down under!

The ‘MAYHEM Ball’ will mark Gaga’s first tour to Australia since 2014, and her first stadium shows here ever.

Last time Gaga was here, she was touring her album ARTPOP. Since then, she’s starred in three films, won an Oscar for Best Original Song, and released nine albums (if you include her collabs with Tony Bennett).

The TDA office will be dropping everything when tickets go on sale next week.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

Election ads are everywhere. On TV, social media, newspapers and in your letterboxes at home. So, does that mean all ads you’re seeing are true? Are they legally required to be true?

Well, that’s what we’re going to answer in today’s podcast, unpacking how political communication occurs during an election, what politicians can say during this time, and whether or not they’re allowed to lie.