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ECONOMY

Tariff Time

President Trump took to the Rose Garden podium on Wednesday afternoon to lay out his Liberation Day tariffs.

What’s in the plan?
Trump declared an economic emergency and announced steeper-than-expected import taxes, including: 

• A baseline tariff of 10% for all countries

• Higher tariffs for the 60 countries Trump considers the “worst offenders” of imbalanced trade, including 34% for China, 20% for the E.U., and 24% for Japan (see the full list here)

• A 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars

How were the country-specific tariffs determined?
The White House says the higher “reciprocal tariff rates” are meant to offset each country’s trade policies toward the U.S., accounting for both tariffs and other trade barriers (like regulations) against U.S. goods. However, the formula used is based on each country’s trade deficit (how much it buys vs. sells to the U.S.), sparking criticism that it’s not doing what was intended or advertised.

The White House described its approach as a “kind” way of addressing “unfair” trade imbalances and protecting domestic manufacturing, and could raise $2.2T in revenue by 2034.

What have the responses to the Rose Garden address been?
More thorny than rosy.

World leaders have expressed hope to negotiate new trade deals with Uncle Sam, with some—including China and the E.U.—vowing to take “resolute countermeasures” if negotiations fail. Stateside, critics say the tariffs “pick fights” with allied countries. In a rare move, four Senate Republicans crossed the aisle Wednesday, voting with Democrats to end the national emergency declaration enabling tariffs on Canada (now it heads to the Republican-controlled House).

Stocks, both international and domestic, nosedived (nosedove?). The Dow dropped 1,600 points, the S&P 500 lost 4.8%, and the small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 officially entered a bear market (down 20% from a recent high).

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Regardless of the world’s economic environment, God remains in control. In the midst of uncertainty on earth, set your hope on the abundance we’ll enjoy with Christ when he comes again. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 
1 Peter 1:3-4 (CSB) (read full passage)

TECHNOLOGY

Déjà Vu

Tomorrow is TikTok’s new sell-or-be-banned deadline (see refresher here). 

A lot of buyers have thrown their hats into the ring(light), including Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, YouTuber MrBeast, private equity heavyweight Blackstone, and Perplexity AI; even Amazon delivered an 11th-hour offer. Reports suggest the front-runner is a group of existing U.S.-based TikTok investors, including tech giant Oracle—which currently stores TikTok’s U.S. data.

Any offer needs to be accepted by ByteDance and approved by President Trump. It’ll likely also require approval from the Chinese government; Trump has said he would “like to see TikTok remain alive” and suggested he may give China “a little reduction in tariffs” to help in negotiations.

President Trump said he expects a deal will be made but is open to extending tomorrow’s deadline if needed. 

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Verse to consider when you’re reevaluating your use of social media…“Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.” 
Romans 14:22-23 (CSB) (read full passage)

SPONSORED

One Week Later

It’s been a week since the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, and things aren’t going well.

Residents of Sagaing—a city of over 300,000 near the quake's epicenter—report that over 80% of the town has been destroyed. Across the region, hospitals and cemeteries are overwhelmed, and international aid is arriving but slowly, hampered by destroyed bridges, damaged roads, and the country’s civil war (which is in a tenuous 20-day humanitarian ceasefire). 

Aid groups have described the damage and needs as “staggering.” 

Officially, at least 2,000 people have died and 3,000 have been injured, though local reports suggest that is a significant undercount. 

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BE DOERS
We’re asking the TPO Community to join us in partnering with World Concern, which has boots on the ground in Myanmar, providing life-sustaining nutrition, clean water, medication, and more. 

TPO is matching the first $3,000—simply give through this link. 

“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?”  
James 2:15-16 (CSB) (read full passage)

Severe storms tore through the Midwest and the South this week. At least six people have died—five in Tennessee and one in Missouri—and 13 were injured. Tornadoes destroyed homes in Missouri and Arkansas, toppled a radio tower in Indiana, and put 14 million people under tornado watches. Forecasters are warning of “generational” flooding as the system continues across the U.S. this weekend.
 

Israel’s taking territory in Gaza amid stalled ceasefire negotiations. The ground operation, announced Monday, will mobilize IDF soldiers into 25% of the enclave in the next 2–3 weeks to reestablish Israeli “security zones,” “increasing pressure” on Hamas to release at least 59 remaining hostages. Displaced Palestinians who had been returning home are now moving back toward “humanitarian zones.”
 

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is hopping off his donkey. Yesterday, the Big Apple politician withdrew from the city’s Democratic primary and announced he’s running for re-election as an independent “to appeal to all New Yorkers.” Adams claimed his recently thrown-out corruption case—which was dismissed with prejudice (AKA no chance of a retrial)—prevented him from campaigning for the primary.
 

Outcry is growing over an “administrative error” that landed a Marylander with protected legal status in a notorious El Salvador prison. The Trump admin—which acknowledged mistakenly deporting the 29-year-old El Salvadoran citizen—is arguing against returning him to Baltimore, alleging gang ties; the man’s lawyers say he fled El Salvador due to gang violence, and the gang association claims are baseless.
 

The White House began mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday, aiming to slash another 10,000 jobs. Through layoffs and deferred resignations, DOGE efforts will reduce the HHS workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 across agencies like the CDC and FDA. The reductions come as HHS Secretary RFK Jr. seeks to reshape the federal public health infrastructure.

WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

How sewing machines work…

What We’re Listening To
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Three Christian thought leaders—David French, Russell Moore, and Curtis Cheng—are sitting down for a live recording of the Good Faith podcast to help us recalibrate. Where do we find hope in what feels like chaos? How do people who are excited about the future and those who are worried talk to one another? How can believers navigate a divided political landscape with hope and humility?

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