The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 31st, 2025: Trump Readies Crippling Tariffs Against Canada And Mexico & Tensions Escalate With Russia Over The Arctic

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, President Trump said Thursday he plans to make good on his threats against Mexico and Canada, and will imminently enact a 25 percent tariff on their imports. We’ll discuss the implications, and how both countries plan to respond. Then, in a sign of the escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over the Arctic, multiple Russian warplanes were spotted in the region this week, forcing NORAD to hastily scramble American and Canadian fighter jets. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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BDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, President Trump said he plans to make good on his threats against Mexico and Canada and will enact a 25% tariff on their imports. We'll discuss the implications and how both countries may respond. Then, in a sign of the escalating tensions between Moscow and the west over the Arctic, multiple Russian warplanes were spotted in the region this week, forcing NORAD to hastily scramble American and Canadian fighter jets. But first, our afternoon spotlight. President Trump declared his intent Thursday to follow through on his economic threats against Canada and Mexico, teeing up a potential trade war with U.S. regional allies.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he planned to put in place 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with the border taxes set to go into effect on Saturday, though unconfirmed reports suggested that they may not be imposed until the 1st of March. Trump argues that both countries are taking advantage of current imbalances in the North American Free Trade Pact and are not doing enough to curb illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking into the U.S., and that's according to a report from the New York Post. Trump also criticized the hundreds of billions in subsidies that the U.S. gives Canada and Mexico each year, arguing that the tariffs are needed to address the, quote, very big deficits

that the U.S. has with both nations. The president first threatened the tariffs following his election victory in November, though many had assumed it was simply a negotiating tactic to secure trade concessions and assurances from Canada and Mexico that they would crack down on border security. But Trump argued Thursday that both countries continue to treat the U.S., quote, very unfairly on trade, and that now was the time to turn up the pressure. In his remarks, Trump said, quote, look, Canada and Mexico, they have never been good to us on trade, and we will be able to make that up very quickly, because we don't need the products that they have, end quote. He said the U.S. has some of the largest

supplies of oil and lumber globally, and that he'll work to free those sectors from his predecessors' environmental regulations in order to boost production. Trump added, however, that he has not yet made a decision on whether oil imports would be included in the policy, saying it depends on if Canada and Mexico treat us well, meaning the U.S., end quote, if the oil is properly priced. Trump also said he was considering imposing new tariffs on China, criticizing them for using Mexico as a pathway to traffic fentanyl into the U.S., though he did not elaborate on details regarding his plans for targeting the Chinese Communist Party. So, how are U.S. neighbors responding to the economic threats? Well, I'm glad you asked. Mexican President and Claudia Scheinbaum said at a press

conference last week that if the U.S. imposes tariffs, Mexico will respond in kind with their own. On Friday, however, well, her response was somewhat more muted. She told reporters she would, quote, wait with a cool head before making a decision on how to respond. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada would respond immediately and forcefully with their own tariffs if Trump moves ahead with his plans. Trudeau said, quote, we're ready with a response. It's not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act, end quote. Now, the tariffs could have a devastating effect on the Canadian economy as roughly 75% of of Canadian exports go directly to the U.S. addressing the Canadian people, Trudeau warned,

quote, I won't sugarcoat it, our nation could be facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks, end quote. It's worth noting that the U.S. is the largest importer of foreign goods, with Mexico, Canada, and China making up America's top three global suppliers. Economists are that if implemented, the tariffs could significantly raise the price of consumer goods at a time when Americans are still grappling with inflation and high interest rates. An economist with the analysis firm High Frequency Economics told CNBC, quote, it will be a plus for bringing down the deficit, that's the good news here, but it's going to come out of people's pockets, end quote.

Coming up, multiple fighter jets were scrambled from Alaska and Canada this week after several Russian warplanes were spotted in the region. It's just the latest incident that's causing tensions to heat up between Moscow and the west over the Arctic region. I'll be right back. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Levato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. On sale now at Yamava Theater.com. Only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary.

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Restrictions apply. Service is not available in all areas. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. Russia is making their presence felt in the Arctic as the battle over strategic influence in the region intensifies. North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said Thursday that multiple Russian warplanes were spotted in the Arctic earlier this week, forcing NORAD to scramble a combat air patrol of American and Canadian fighter jets in order to monitor the activity. While the Russian aircraft stayed in international airspace, they did come close to the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones, that's according to our report from CBS News. Two Canadian CF-18 fighter

jets and one refueling aircraft were dispatched from the Canadian NORAD region and two USF-35 fighter jets and two refueling aircraft tankers were launched from the Alaskan NORAD region, to the Russian activity. Several hours later, NORAD also scrambled two F-16 fighter jets from Alaska to Greenland in order to quote, forward-poster Norad presence in the Arctic, though they stressed that they did not view the Russian warplanes as a current threat. Now, it's just the latest military incident to unfold in a region that has recently turned into a geopolitical focal point, with the U.S., Russia and China all vying for strategic dominance. In December, for example, NORAD was forced to dispatch fighter jets to shadow Russian warplanes after they flew near Alaska.

Over the course of 2024, Russian military planes made multiple incursions into the Arctic region, including one incident last July where Russian and Chinese warplanes were intercepted in Alaska's air defense identification zone. Russia has also recently reopened dozens of Soviet-era military bases in the Arctic region, as tensions with the West deterioration, due to Putin's war in Ukraine. Additionally, the Putin regime has deployed two nuclear submarines to the Arctic and engaged in tests of their hypersonic missiles, reportedly capable of evading American defenses. Russia's expansionist behavior, of course, is a major concern for the U.S. and a big driver behind President Trump's recent push to bring Greenland under U.S. control.

Now, Greenland sits on vast deposits of rare earth minerals, oil, and gas, and is positioned, near-crucial global trade and military arteries. The U.S. as a decades-old treaty granting the U.S. access to an Arctic base in southern Greenland, which now hosts an airfield and advance radar and missile detection systems. But between both Russia and China, Trump argues that the U.S. needs to fully control Greenland in order to deter potential threats and ensure America's top adversaries do not end up dominating the strategically important Arctic waters, which, of course, vital shipping routes. Earlier this month, Trump said, quote,

I'm talking about protecting the free world. You look outside, you have Chinese ships all over the place, you have Russian ships all over the place, and we're not letting that happen, end quote. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 31 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com.

Now, if you'll take a moment just a look at your calendar, well, you'll notice that today is Friday. And if today is Friday, and which it is, then that can only mean one thing. A brand new episode of our much-loved weekend show, the PDB Situation Report, hits the airwaves tonight at 10 p.m. on the first TV. Our excellent guests this weekend include Ben and Ben Taliblu from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the author and all-around smart fellow Brandon Weikert. Now, we examine just how shaky the Iranian regime is and what they're not. the Trump administration may do regarding Iran's nuclear program, as well as U.S. efforts to build a space-based missile defense system, and the Chinese regime's ability to knock out critical

U.S. satellites. It's not only, well, a humdinger of a show, it's frankly a barn burner, and it's also available on our YouTube channel, and you can find that at President's Daily Brief, as well as all podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the Situation Report. Until then, Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month.

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