💸 EU expects $29 billion hit from Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs

With Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum exports set to come into force on March 12, the European Union fears it will mark a massive escalation in the trade war with the US.

Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Sefcovic proposed a deal to lower tariffs on industrial goods, including cars, one of Trump’s long-standing demands, Bloomberg reported.

The US-EU trade war began in 2018 when Trump’s previous round of tariffs affected about $7 billion of European metal exports. The 2018 tariffs allowed exemptions for certain products which the new measures do not.

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📹 Rubio calling Russia a great power shows US adm recognition that the world order is shifting

The US realizes that there are other interests besides the West, multipolar environment is developing and they need to respect other great powers, for sure Russia and China, retired US Army Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik.

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TRUMP’S HARSH NEW DEAL for Ukraine: terms worse than those Zelensky rejected

💰 The US wants HALF of Ukraine's natural resources’ revenues (oil, gas, minerals) for the past military support, the NYT reported.

🏦 This money will go to a US-owned fund until these contributions hit a total of $500 billion – which is 500 TIMES HIGHER than Ukraine's actual income from these resources.

⚓️ Some Ukrainian PORT REVENUES would also go toward this repayment.

💎 US companies would get 50% OWNERSHIP of Ukraine’s rare earth deposits, Center for Strategic International Studies said.

🚫 No US SECURITY GUARANTEES for Ukraine.

Zelensky should have agreed sooner...

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Starlink shutdown: A ticking time bomb for Ukraine’s armed forces

Elon Musk’s reported threat to cut off Starlink may deal “the most powerful military-technical blow to combat capabilities of Ukrainian armed forces,” veteran military and international affairs specialist Andrei Koshkin told Sputnik. Here’s why.

The possible shutdown would mean that the Ukrainian troops would be unable to:

▪️coordinate their artillery strikes
▪️launch and pilot unmanned aerial vehicles – not least reconnaissance drones – and unmanned surface vessels
▪️exchange messages, including on tactical information
▪️use satellite telecommunications

The Starlink ultimatum testifies to Donald Trump's determination to achieve his goals, Koshkin said.

It could put serious pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Trump’s rare earth metals deal.

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- Mr. President, what’s your secret weapon?
- Cash 💸Kash🔥

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▪️Trump’s harsh new deal for Ukraine: terms worse than those Zelensky rejected

▪️Starlink shutdown: A ticking time bomb for Ukraine’s armed forces

▪️Kash Patel, future FBI head, calls for probe into missing billions sent to Zelensky

▪️Russia and China could pick up the slack if US quit UN, but total dissolution would fuel conflict

▪️Rubio calling Russia a great power shows US adm recognition that the world order is shifting

▪️Сhina shows off revolutionary laser camera that spots human faces from low-Earth orbit

▪️Hamas releases 5 Israeli prisoners to the Red Cross in Gaza

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'US would NOT be taking ownership of physical assets in Ukraine' – US Treasury Secretary

In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines the potential for a long-term economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine. He says Zelensky himself proposed offering the US a stake in Ukraine's rare earth critical minerals, longing for economic partnership.

Key highlights:

🔸 Bessent emphasizes that Ukraine’s economic future “can be more prosperous than ever,” with a partnership with the US ensuring long-term growth.

🔸 The proposed partnership would focus on funding Ukraine’s reconstruction and development.

🔸 Revenue from Ukraine’s natural resources and assets would be allocated to a fund dedicated to long-term economic development, with the US holding economic and governance rights in future investments.

🔸 Bessent claims that US involvement would eliminate corruption and insider deals.

🔸 Countries that didn’t support Ukraine’s defense would not benefit from the reconstruction.

🔸 The US would not burden Ukraine with additional debt, according to Bessent.

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👀 Trump emotionally explains why he decided to run for president

💬 “Donald, don’t get angry, please,” US President Donald Trump said, calming himself down.

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💸 ‘We are asking for rare earth, oil, ANYTHING WE CAN GET’ – Trump on rare earth deal with Ukraine

💬 “We feel so stupid,” US President Donald Trump stressed.

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🎯 DOGE targets Pentagon – and for a good reason. Here is why

Here are the most notorious examples of the Pentagon flushing American taxpayers’ money down the drain.

1️⃣ Overhyped and expensive weapons

◻️ The vaunted F-35 aircraft, expected to cost over $2 trillion for the whole program. Despite the exorbitant cost, the plane keeps breaking down, with the most recent F-35 crash taking place in January 2025.

◻️ The littoral combat ships, costing $30 billion. Half of these vessels ended up suffering from structural defects that resulted in hull cracks.

◻️ The failed Future Combat Systems modernization program, which cost about $18 billion but did not provide any tangible results.

2️⃣ Squandering equipment

◻️ The panicked US flight from Afghanistan in 2021 left behind about $7 billion worth of military hardware – most of it in working order – at the expense of US taxpayers.

3️⃣ Buying overpriced gear

◻️ In 2024, the US Air Force was caught buying spare parts for C-17 transport aircraft from Boeing at outrageous prices, including toilet soap dispensers whose cost was inflated by nearly 8,000%.

◻️ Other overpriced items include reusable coffee mugs for USAF crews, priced at nearly $1,300 apiece, and $10,000 toilet seat covers for older C-5 Galaxy transports.

4️⃣ Bureaucratic waste

◻️ Streamlining the Pentagon bureaucracy would have saved some $125 billion over five years, an internal study in 2016 found. The DoD opted to quietly bury the report.

5️⃣ Funding really questionable research

◻️ A $10.8 million DoD contract funded University of Pittsburgh experiments that subjected cats to electro-shocks to either force prompt a spontaneous erection or make them defecate foreign objects previously inserted into their rectums. The study was condemned by US Senator Rand Paul in his 2024 Festivus report.

The picture is AI-generated

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❗️ Trump ‘VERY CONFIDENT’ US can get Russia-Ukraine settlement deal ‘THIS WEEK’ – WH Press Secretary

💬 "He also wanted me to tell you all that he believes very strongly that Russia is willing to make a deal, and he's fighting to make a deal," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

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